Jamie and the Argonauts
by The Evil Carlita
Summary: When Bobby finds out who the Sirens were, he needs to form a team of his own. Trouble then comes to town in the form of Emma Frost and her mutant students. Will they stand up to these foes, if they even are foes? And why is Amara acting so strange?
1. In Which There Is a Sea of Jamies

Disclaimer: X-Men is Marvel's

A/N: Okay, so anyone who follows my stuff will know that this is reposted. That's because I wanted to clean it up a bit, and give people a chance to read it in increments (since the first chap was posted in… 2006? Yeah, I think that's when). Anyway, I'm ready with several weeks' worth of chapters, and hope to be done with this by the end of the semester. Anticipate about 10/11 chapters.

Also, this is meant to be episode 1 of season 5. Have fun!

* * *

_I knew it. I knew it, I knew it, I knew it_, Bobby thought, practically leaping out of his chair while his eyes remained glued on the computer screen. It was so obvious, why hadn't he and the others thought of it before! The scorch marks, the reports of ghosts, people knocked out with a touch…

Half a second later Bobby was halfway across the room that he shared with Sam Guthrie. Knocking his friend in the shoulder, Bobby didn't even wait for Sam's eyes to open before he began talking. "Guess what?" he exclaimed. "Guess what I just did! You're never going to believe it, I mean, you will, but none of us did until now, so-"

"What are you goin' on about?" Sam asked, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "You want me to guess something? I already know what you just did." Bobby looked at Sam quizzically. He was certain that his roommate had been asleep while he worked away on the computer. Sam had always been a heavy sleeper. "You done woke me up, so now I'm gonna have to knock you one," Sam replied, pushing Bobby from the tentative seat he had taken on the edge of Sam's bed. "Later, though," he continued as he rolled over, away from Bobby, "after I get in my beauty rest."

Bobby rolled his eyes, ran his hand through his hair, and in one fluid moment ripped Sam's comforter out of his grip and straight off the bed. Instantly, Sam was up, his feet adjusted constantly for the unstable surface of his bed. "Bobby, what the hell are you doin'!"

"This is worth it, Sam, trust me!" Bobby practically yelled, retreating to the other side of the room. "No powers, now, you know the rules."

Sam looked even more hostile for a moment before his shoulders sagged, and he dropped down so he was sitting on his bed. "What the hell is so important that it can't wait until morning?" Sam drawled, his accent more pronounced in his sleepy state.

"Remember a few months ago, the vigilante activity by that group of girls?" Bobby knew Sam did. They and the rest of the younger boys had been constantly on the watch for these new super-powered girls. They had thought Xavier's was the only place (other than the Brotherhood) where people like them hung out, but obviously there were a few people they didn't know about. Even better, they were girls! Five girls! The boys just knew that at least one of them had to be hot…

"Yeah, course I do," Sam said. They hadn't really talked about the girls for a couple of weeks. After the chop shop had been discovered and disbanded by the girls, they had just disappeared.

Bobby grinned a wide grin, and Sam knew that Bobby had a new lead. He was wrong though; Bobby didn't have just a lead. "I know who they are," he said, smugly.

Sam's eyes popped wide open, and he regretted his behavior toward his friend earlier. He was glad that Bobby had woke him up. "Well, what are you waitin' for? Who are they?" Sam asked eagerly.

"It was simple, really. And very obvious," Bobby continued, not quite ready to hand over this precious information. He wanted Sam to beg. "You see, all I had to do was hack into the police files about the vigilante case. It had testimonies from the culprits about the girls' powers, testimonies that were never allowed to be made public. From their powers, it's really very apparent that the girls are-"

Bobby was cut off, however, by a psychic announcement. _All students are to report to Xavier's Office. That is all._

Sam stared at Bobby, knowing they had both gotten the same message. It sounded like an emergency, but Bobby would still have time to drop the names if he would just hurry up a do it.

Standing, Bobby started toward the door, but continued, "the girls are-"

Again, though, he was interrupted. The door to their room was slammed open and a boy who looked almost like a slightly smaller version of Bobby stood blocking the doorway. "You guys better hurry, I heard that-"

"Get out of here, you little piss-ant" Sam said, glaring, and he used his powers only slightly to fly across the room and close the door in Jaime's face. "Go on," he said to Bobby, holding the door against Jamie's efforts to get in. The effort was futile, though, because before Bobby even had a chance to speak, the door was forced open again. This time, in the doorway, were at least seven Jamies; Bobby didn't even take the time to count them all.

Groaning, Bobby pushed through them out of the room, with Sam following. The Jamies followed, in slowly reducing numbers, all of them babbling at once:

"You're never going to guess what's going on!"

"Of course not; we're going to tell them!"

"Why?"

"What?"

"They've always picked on-"

"Let's not!"

"Don't tell them?"

"But it's so juicy! We have-"

"Oh, just tell them already!" one finally shouted, his eyes closed and fists clenched in fury and conviction. When he opened his eyes, though, there was no one else around, and Bobby and Sam, along with Roberto, Ray, and Alex, who were making their way to Xavier's study as well, were all staring at him.

Looking down and glaring slightly, Jamie excused himself, "They were here just a second ago," then pushed himself past the others and left.

The other boys waited until Jamie was gone, then exchanged bemused glances before bursting out laughing, and proceeding to whoop and holler as they stampeded their way down the stairs to where they had been told to meet.

Everyone else was already there when the boys walked in, so Ray closed the door and leaned against the wall, as did most of the other boys, as the seats were all taken. Everyone was there, including someone extra: a strikingly beautiful blonde woman in business casual. She and Xavier were chatting happily while the other students watched, whispering among themselves about who this stranger could be.

"Maybe Xavier has a daughter he never told us about as well," Bobby sniggered to Sam.

"Or anot'er wife," Remy offered.

"Quiet down everyone," Xavier announced. "Now that everyone is here, there's someone I'd like to introduce to you. This is Emma Frost," he said, indicating the blonde woman, who stood up a little taller at the mention of her name. "Miss Frost is a mutant like us, and she used to be a colleague of mine. In fact, she runs her own boarding house for mutants, and has decided to relocate to New York."

The students in the room eyed each other uneasily. The only two other groups of mutants that had shown up in the city had turned out to be bad news. They wondered if Emma would turn out to be any different.

"If you run into her students at school," Xavier continued, "I would encourage you to extend to them every courtesy, and help them adjust to life here. Their names are Douglas Ramsey, Manuel de la Rocha, and Lorna Dane, and they will be starting school at Bayville High tomorrow.

I do not need to remind you all that I expect you to not only act as representatives of the mutant community to humans, but to other mutants as well. You can show by example that these new mutants need not fear humans or other mutants, but that we can all live peacefully together. That is all, unless, of course, Emma has anything to add," he finished, motioning to Miss Frost.

Nodding, Emma stepped forward. Hands on her hips, her stance suggested a very powerful and headstrong woman. Quickly brushing some of her hair and behind her face, she spoke up. "I know what most of you are thinking," she began, then stopped as a murmur spread through the room; she must be a telepath. "Yes, I am," she responded, then continued. "You all are thinking that a new mutant team in town is always bad news. If the mutant isn't with you, isn't on _your_ team, then they're inevitably against you, right? Well, you're wrong. We can support each other, can maintain friendly relations, without sharing the same roof. My students are training with their powers and their tactical skills so that they can protect themselves and others, just like you. And they are afraid to be living in a world that persecutes their kind, just like you. I hope, together, we can help secure the survival of the mutants within a government that has shown varying degrees between hostility and indifference." She turned toward Charles as she said, "That's all I have to say, so, if I'm not mistaken, you are all dismissed."

The noise in the room heightened as all the students stood and began making their way out. X-23 led the pack, uncomfortable in such a large group, and ready to leave at the soonest instant. Bobby nudged Sam before they began heading out. "Get Ray," he said, and then headed in the direction of Roberto. As he crossed the room, he passed as Alex nudged Scott, pointed in the direction of Emma, and whispered, "Hot, huh?" Scott blushed and said nothing, but still received an elbow in the ribs from Jean, who was standing on his other side, and a snigger from Warren, who was standing by Jean.

Chuckling and shaking his head, Bobby reached Roberto, who was heading out with Jubilee and Rhane. "Hey," Bobby said, putting his hand on Roberto's shoulder and pulling him away so the girls couldn't hear. "Meet in my and Sam's room, soon as you can," he whispered, and then continued back further in the room, where Amara was leaving with Tabitha and Piotr.

"What do you guys think? New mutant team… I don't know. Even after what Emma said." Bobby shoved his hands in his pants and started walking out with them.

"Yeah, and she was very persuasive," Tabitha said, indicating with her tone and her glances at Piotr and Bobby that she was quite aware that every boy in the room was carrying, if not a torch, at least a match for the blonde telepath.

Amara giggled. "I don't really know either," she offered. "I mean, we can't do much except trust her for now anyway, right? And then things will either work out, or the X-Men will have another mess to clean up."

"You mean we'll have another mess to clean up," Bobby offered. "We're X-Men too, you know. We fought Apocalypse along with the rest of them."

"And kicked ass!" Tabitha added, grabbing Piotr's arm and making him blush.

"…But," Amara continued, "I highly doubt we will be doing many missions for a while. The main X-Men are enough. And besides, Xavier was getting calls for weeks afterwards from Roberto's and others' parents. I'm surprised that everyone is still here!"

"Da," Piotr added, "You are tough, but too young."

There was a short pause as Bobby thought that over, glaring slightly at Piotr. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Anyway, I'll catch you two," he said, motioning toward Tabitha and Amara, "at the training session later today." With that Bobby headed upstairs to his room, while the girls went off to the kitchen to grab some breakfast for themselves. Always impatient, he took the stairs two at a time, then restrained himself from bounding the rest of the way. Passing Jubilee in the hall, he ran into her on "accident" and was pleased with the smile he received in return. Today was turning out to be a pretty good day, Bobby had decided.

Entering his room, he found Ray, Sam, and Roberto already waiting. Oh, and Jamie too. "Who invited him?" Bobby asked, acting exasperated despite the fact that he probably would have invited to the boy along in the end anyway.

"Wouldn't leave," Ray said curtly, "now, what's the big news? I'm starving!"

Smiling in a self-satisfied manner, Bobby took a seat in his computer chair. "You guys remember the Sirens, that all-girl vigilante team from a while back?"

"Yeah"

"Of course"

"Well," Bobby continued. "I know who they are. They were living right under this roof the entire time. I was able to get access to the police records about their activities, and their powers all point to five girls here."

"Here?" Roberto repeated, sounding disappointed. "You mean we already know them?"

"Yeah, yeah, that's the only bad news. They're Kitty, Jean, Tabby, Amara, and Rogue."

There was a small moment of silence before Ray finally spoke up. "Well, I can't say that I'm really surprised. But you said already knowing them was the bad news. If there's bad news, there must be good news too, and I haven't heard any yet."

"Ah, the good news," Bobby nodded. "The good news is that if they can do it, so can we. Not only can we, but we should! We can't let ourselves be upstaged by a bunch of girls. We should form our own team. What do you say?" Bobby finished enthusiastically.

"I like it!" Jamie practically squealed, but the others were pretty quite.

"I don't know, man," Sam offered. "I mean, what would it entail? We don't really have a lot of free time to go around trying to catch criminals."

"I know, I know," Bobby responded. "We'd just do what we could. You know, if something presented itself, like the car theft ring the Sirens got involved in.

There was another short pause. "I'm in," Roberto finally said. "I'm tired of just sitting in the background here. I don't want to go looking for trouble, but if there's something to do, I'll do it."

"You know I'm with you too, buddy," Sam added. All heads then turned toward Ray.

Rolling his eyes a little, Ray said, "I know how devastated you all would be without me, so of course I'm in."

All smiling, the boys were surprised when Jamie spoke. "Now we need a name!"

Head falling in his hands, Ray sighed. "This is worse than being caught playing dress-up," he said, then stood. "You guys come up with a name and let me know. Just don't be too fruity, okay?"

"Yeah, whatever," Bobby said, throwing a pillow at Ray's retreating back. It just barely missed as he disappeared through the doorway. "So… anyone have any ideas?"

"It should be similar to the Sirens," Sam said.

"Okay…"

"What about 'The Heroes,'" Jamie suggested, brightening.

"Nuh-uh, too lame," Bobby responded, his brow furrowing in thought. The room was silent for a few minutes before Jamie ventured another idea.

"'The Argonauts'?"

"Sounds cool," Roberto said, shrugging. "Who are The Argonauts?"

"They were sailors in Greek mythology. They battled monsters, like sirens."

"And now they're us, too," Bobby said, making the decision for the rest of the group. "The world now has a new superhero team, The Argonauts!"

"Yeah!" Jamie jumped up excitedly, "Jamie and the Argonauts!"

There was silence as the rest of the boys looked at Jamie like he was crazy. "What?!"

"You know," he said meekly, explaining. "In mythology it was Jason and the Argonauts, so… I thought…"

"Um… No!" Roberto shouted as he hit Jamie with a pillow, knocking a few Jamies to the ground.

"I second that!" Sam said, hitting Jamie with a pillow as well. Laughing, Bobby opened the door and ran out of his room and down to breakfast before he could end up knee-deep in Jamies. This was definitely a good day.


	2. In Which Books are Dropped

Even with the new students, Tabitha was not surprised to find that things at Bayville High were still uneventful. So uneventful, in fact, that Tabby had to fall back to entertaining herself in her usual fashions—winking in a flirty manner at the boys that passed, dancing to whatever beat was happening in her oversized headphones, and sprouting pea-sized bombs in all the convenient places. She would get in big trouble if Xavier discovered that last little bit, but had that ever stopped her before?

Then, maybe it should this time. Tabitha had finally decided to rejoin the X-Juniors team after the adventure with Apocalypse. She blamed her return to the mansion, which had happened earlier, mostly on her great friendship with Amara. The two had been close since Tabby had come to Bayville, but all the heavy adventures lately had made them only closer than before.

_Speak of the devil_, Tabby thought as said girl came through the halls towards her. The younger girl was laughing over something the boy next to her had said. This boy was, of course, Bobby; Tabby was not surprised, as Bobby had been flirting with Amara for as long as she had known the two, but she _was_ surprised to discover that this time they were not alone. On Amara's other side followed Roberto, and trailing behind them was none other than Sam. The three boys were, as Tabby noted, all giving their complete attention to the fire worker, an accomplishment with which even Tabby was impressed. She had always pinned Amara as being attractive and usually as the romantic interest of at least one of the institute recruits (what _were_ their options, anyway?), but never to three at once

Tabitha chuckled as she saw Ray sulkily come around the corner behind the other group. He seemed slightly annoyed, the cause of which was, quite likely, the fact that his friends were making fools of themselves, and didn't even notice. Tabitha amused herself by trying to picture Amara and Ray as a couple for a moment before shaking it off with a laugh. Like that would ever work out…

Tabitha's eyes met Amara's briefly and she called out to her.

"Where're you going?" she shouted across the hall, waving a hand in the air and causing the students around her to flinch. Amara laughed, a blush of embarrassment spreading across her features, and bid her companions goodbye as the hallway forked. She approached Tabby with a huge grin on her face.

"Hey," the blonde started, "Are we Miss Popular or what?" To this, Amara covered a laugh with a cough, looking at Tabby incredulously. She dropped a few books in the process and shuffled to pick them up, still giving Tabitha the strange look. "C'mon, girl, don't deny it! You're like, the most popular girl at the Institute!"

"You're kidding, right?" Amara asked, rearranging the books in her hand nervously. "Jubilee is _way_ more popular than I am, and—"

"Amara, please. Remember when we were the Sirens? You were _totally_ the hottest one of us!" Tabby punched the smaller girl in the shoulder playfully, trademark grin on her face. "Jubes didn't even get to _be_ a Siren!"

"Yeah, those were good times," Amara reminisced for a moment before snapping back to reality, "But Jubilee wasn't with us when we did that, Tabby. Neither was Rahne. And besides, I was definitely _not_ the prettiest. Jean was so sexy, and Kitty, she—"

Tabby scoffed, interrupting Amara again, "Kitty wouldn't know sexy if it pinched her in the—"

"Tabby!" Amara covered Tabby's mouth mid-sentence and looked around to make sure nobody else had heard the loud blonde. "Besides, you know she's at least _kinda_ pretty if _Colossus_ has a crush on her!"

"Yeah, but she's still with _Lance_. Just you wait, Amara, one day Piotr's going to realize Kitty's never going to get over ol' rocks-for-brains. And there _I'll_ be, girl, ready to play hard to get with that sexy—"

"Tabby, I don't think Piotr is the type of guy to go for girls who play 'hard-to-get.' Maybe you should consider a different approach." Amara smiled maliciously as she added, "and maybe you should try not to make your jealousness of Kitty too obvious."

"Ouch" Tabitha responded, grinning. "I do believe, Miss Amara Aquilla, that I am having a bad influence on you. And you just wait until I get my charms working on Piotr. It'll be like a very hunky kitten getting hit by a very sexy Mack tru-oooooo, who are the new guys?" Tabitha's head followed a group of three students as they walked toward Amara and Tabitha.

Amara giggled, amused by her friend. "I swear, Tabitha, you have the shortest attention span ever. Don't you remember what the professor said yesterday? We're getting new mutants in Bayville," Amara explained, trying to look discreet in staring at one of the boys in the group.

There were three students, one girl, and two boys. One of the boys was blonde, and very young looking.

"He can't be old enough to be here. Look, the kid could be Jamie's twin!" Tabitha said, speaking somewhat under her breath, and emphasizing her displeasure by crossing her arms and leaning against the lockers. She scrunched her nose in scrutiny, watching as the three students passed through the halls almost silently

"I heard," Amara said eventually, watching them stop at their lockers, "that he's even smarter than Arcade. The professor says he can understand, write, and speak anything, including that stuff we're learning in computer sciences."

"Impressive" Tabby said while yawning, noting to herself how lucky she was not to have gotten stuck with a really boring power like that. "But just _look_ at them. If they all don't stand out as mutants, I'll move back in with my father."

Amara couldn't help but agree. If David's age and inhuman computer skills didn't give it away, then Lorna Dane's bright green hair would. It was in a braid, as if trying to make it look more discreet, but Amara couldn't help but think that it didn't do a bit of good. Other than that, she was pretty normal looking: an average height, with pale skin and a narrow frame

The green hair didn't seem to faze the boys looking towards Lorna, however, and Tabby voiced her disapproval. "Would you look at that? She's been here for less than a day, and she's already got the boys looking at her. She's walking around like it's her turf already!"

Amara blushed a little, embarrassed by her friend's shallow sentiments. "Maybe they're just looking at her hair. I mean, she is unusual looking…"

"Yeah," Tabitha laughed, "and Bobby and Sam and Roberto were just looking at your hair." She shook her head. "No, they're looking at _her_. And she's not even giving them a second look, no teasing or anything. Why, she might be even more oblivious than you." _Or more confident_, Tabitha added in her head.

"I'm not oblivious!" the Amara retorted immediately. "I'm just… not interested." Tabby couldn't help but laugh, and Amara glared at her. "You shouldn't laugh like that! I feel horrible, knowing they're all trying to flirt. It's just so… weird, and it's starting to drive me nuts."

"Have you considered dating one of 'em?"

Amara wriggled her nose uncomfortably. "One of the Institute guys? You're kidding, right? They're like my brothers. I'm waiting for the _right_ guy, and I can guarantee it isn't any of _them_."

"What about that guy?" Tabitha asked, looking toward the last new mutant. "I saw the way you were looking at him earlier. You haven't looked at a guy like that since we watched the track team on your first day here."

"I…" Amara trailed off, looking at the guy that Tabitha was talking about. He was tall, with a dark complexion and a very confident air. Tabitha grinned, watching her friend. She had been right, the girl had it bad, and it had taken absolutely no time for her to fall.

Suddenly, the boy looked up, his eyes meeting with Amara's and his gaze piercing. Amara jerked her head away, coughing out of embarrassment and dropping her books, which she hastily dropped down to pick up. Tabitha joined her.

"You…" Tabby said, trying to help Amara finish her thought.

"I don't even know him."

"Not yet, but you know I can fix that problem…" Tabitha smiled mischievously, getting her revenge for Amara's earlier remark.

"Tabitha, please don't," Amara said, blanching out of fright. It would be just the thing that Tabitha might do, too. She would find some embarrassing way of introducing the two, and Amara would be so petrified that she would inevitably make a fool of herself…

"As soon as you ask me to," Tabitha said, finishing her thought. "I won't blow your chances with a hunk like that, I promise.

Amara breathed a sigh of relief and stood up with her books, only to shriek and almost drop them again. Right in front of her was the very boy who they were talking about, smiling and looking at her like he knew all her secrets already, and was happy with what he saw.

She had no words, there were no words, she was going to melt, she was going to faint, she was-

"Hi." That was all he said, but it was so disarming and so encouraging that Amara suddenly found herself standing taller and unafraid to meet his eyes.

"Hey, I'm Amara," she said, reaching out her hand.

"Manuel," he responded, taking her hand and squeezing it gently before releasing it. "I'm new here-"

"I know."

"… and I was wondering if you might be able to help me find my first class."

"Sure" Amara replied, and turned with Manuel to walk down the hall toward the classroom that he needed.

And so Tabitha was left crouching on the ground, having never gotten up from helping Amara collect her books. Standing slowly, she watched her friend's retreating back, wondering how she could be ignored so. Then she remembered that she probably would have done the same thing in Amara's shoes.

Shrugging, Tabitha turned in the direction of her class, then smiled as she saw Kurt heading in the same direction. "Hey, Elf, wait up!" she called, running to catch up with him. "Is that an orange soda? I love orange soda! Hey, I hope you remembered your textbook, because I sure didn't. Oh, and the homework, do you mind…"

Kurt shook his head as Tabitha went on. He never had enough energy to keep up with her!


	3. In Which There is Capture the Flag

"Sweet! Another rousing game of mutant capture the flag," Bobby exclaimed, seeing the football in Logan's hands as he and the rest of the new recruits headed down the lawn toward Logan. They were a big group, including not just the original new recruits (Bobby, Roberto, Jubilee, Amara, Tabitha, Ray, Sam, Jamie, and Rahne), but also some of those who were new to the school (X-23, Danielle, and Alex). There were more mutants at the school who were new as well (Remy, Piotr, and Warren), but they were considered experienced enough to train with the main X-team. There had also recently been talk of moving X-23 up to the older team, especially after last week's training session, where many of the new recruits felt in danger of losing limbs, as well as their pride.

"Yeah, I can never put anything past you, can I, Bobby?" Logan replied gruffly as the kids got closer. "Objectives are going to be a bit different today, however. Some of you are going to be protecting the football, while the others try to… assassinate it."

"Wow, harsh," Tabitha said, looking at the football. "That must be one important football."

"Yeah, yeah," Logan said, shaking his head. It must be a prerequisite for young mutants to be smart-asses on top of too damn powerful for their own goods. "By some of you are going to try to assassinate it, I mean one of you is. X, you got this."

"Wait, X-23?" Ray spoke up. "That's ridiculous."

"Yeah," Jubilee chimed in. "Last week she almost massacred us. There's no way we can win this game if _she_'s the assassin."

"And that's not even mentioning how quickly she took everyone out the first time she came to this mansion," Ray added.

"You mean to tell me," Wolverine said, a small smile playing across his face, "that eleven of you cannot take on one little girl?" X-23 growled. "You are little, girly, just get over it." X-23 snorted contemptuously, but broke the challenging stare she'd been holding with Wolverine.

"Of course we can," Bobby spoke up, "Right, guys?" The group murmured their assent in various degrees of enthusiasm.

Nodding and smiling a bit sadistically, Wolverine continued the game's instructions. "You are to get the football from point A," he pointed to where they were standing," to point B," he pointed across the grounds. They knew that through the woods was the driveway up to the mansion. "The X-Van is parked through there. You need to get the football in there without any scratch marks from X." He then turned to his clone. "And no damaging the X-Van." She smirked and he continued. "You have 5 minutes to discuss strategy here while X-23 explores and prepares in between points A and B. Now go."

Wolverine threw the football to Jamie and started walking into the trees with X-23 bounding before him, while the new recruits all started talking at once.

"Oh yeah," Wolverine shouted, turning back toward them. "If you're holding the football you can't use your powers."

"What?!" Rahne screeched.

"You heard me."

Grumbling, the new recruits all turned back into their circle.

"Alright," Alex began. "You guys just keep the ball behind me, and I'll take care of X-23."

Ray scoffed. "And if she attacks from behind? No," he shook his head. "We need a real plan. Bobby?"

Bobby smiled, then opened his mouth to start to talk.

"Wait a minute, why does he get to come up with the plan?" Danielle interrupted. "I'm just as qualified to lead as he is."

"He gets to come up with plan because he won't shut up if he doesn't," Sam countered. "Besides, he fancies himself a mini-Scott. Just let him talk, and if you don't like it then, you can say something."

"…fine."

"Okay, then," Tabitha said. "What's the plan, boss man?"

"Danielle's got the ball," Bobby started, "and-"

"What!" Danielle interjected, standing. "Why do I get to be the lame duck in this exercise?"

"What are you talking about, you have the most important job," Roberto told her.

"Yeah, the job that means I don't get to use my powers." She turned to Bobby. "You know that I'm the best one here at actually getting close to hurting X-23. I terrify her."

"That's right. You also have this tendency to make her go into a berserker rage. You were the catalyst behind her rampage last training session, remember? You may be able to hurt her, but you can't control her. You're on football."

Danielle crossed her arms, and pursed her lips, but nodded. He was right, no matter how much it sucked to have to play human for this training session.

"Alright, if everyone else will please be quiet until I reach the end," Bobby continued, savoring his leadership. "Sam, you're transport. Hopefully this game will be over before it can start. Jamie, Rahne and I are surveillance. Rahne and I'll be trying to find X-23, and Jamie will keep a wide perimeter around Danielle and yell if he sees her. That leaves Amara, Tabitha, Roberto, Alex, Ray, and Jubilee as security. You will keep a tight perimeter around Danielle, with Roberto in the air. If she gets in past Jamie, shout, and Rahne and I will come running. Any objections?"

"Just one," Tabitha said.

"Yeah?"

"I think it's been longer than five minutes!" She was looking behind Bobby to see X-23 rushing toward them holding a gun.

"Paint ball?" Bobby shouted, shoving the football into Danielle's hands before starting to fire ice jets toward X-23. His ice jets were joined by time bombs, fireballs, fireworks, plasma blasts, and electric waves. "You never said anything about paint ball!"

"She's an assassin," Wolverine answered from the tree line. "You have to be prepared for anything."

X-23 was being met with a deluge of powers, but she was dodging them all like they were nothing. Leaping into the air, she brought her gun up and fired. Before any of them knew what had happened, Amara was out. Alex was out. Jubilee was out. Ray was out.

"Sam, get her the hell out of here!" Bobby shouted, putting up a small ice shield that Jamie and Rahne took up shelter behind, while Tabitha continued throwing her time bombs. Sam took Danielle up in his arms, and he was gone. Roberto was out. Tabitha was out. Bobby reinforced his wall, but it was without reason; X-23 was keeping her attention on the football. He and Rahne and Jamie watched as she turned in midair, landed facing the retreating backs of Danielle and Sam, and aimed her gun. One well placed shot, and Sam was not only out, but unconscious.

"X!" Logan growled, warning in his voice.

"He's fine!" X-23 retorted, bounding toward where Sam and Danielle were falling just within the tree line. "I just knocked him out!"

Danielle had broken free of Sam, who hit the ground hard, and rolled when she hit the ground. Getting to her feet quickly and running, she spared not even a glance behind her; she knew what was there.

"Multiple, Wolfsbane, let's do this!" Bobby shouted, jumping up over his shield as he iced up, then started an ice bridge heading toward Danielle. Rahne changed forms quickly, leaping over the ice wall and close on Bobby's heels. Behind them all was Jamie.

"Bobby! What am I supposed to do now?" He shouted.

"Try to catch up to X-23. Lots of multiples! Tackle her! Just hold her back! Rahne, you too!"

Rahne barked her assent and immediately increased her speed, bounding toward X-23 as fast as she could. Bobby watched as Rahne caught up to the assassin just before she reached the tree line which was hiding Danielle. With a quick nip at the X-23's heel, she sent X-23 rolling, but it wasn't long before the girl was up, crouched, and taking her aim at Rahne, who was evading well, but it would only be a matter of time.

Pausing, Bobby directed his hands toward X-23, freezing the gun in her hands. Crying out, she looked up at him, a scowl on her face. Bobby quickly broke eye contact and hurried on toward the trees. Danielle was his objective. She was doing well; he couldn't even see her anymore through the brush. She was probably about halfway to the X-Van by now. Bobby would just have to go up and try to find her. Creating a slide up over the top branches, he concentrated on looking through the foliage below him. He was pretty much of top of her when he found her because he was looking for something moving, and she was standing in place, looking up toward him.

"Psyche, what the hell are you doing?" he shouted down at her.

"Bobby, look out!" she screamed, pointing up at him.

"What are you talking about?" Bobby yelled back, looking up just in time to see a flash of light as the giant hand held over him let off a blast. He didn't even have time to scream before a blur of a girl tackled him from behind, sending both of them flying off the end of his ice slide.

Bobby hadn't realized how close he was to the edge of the Mansion's property until he was falling. He saw the privacy wall and an unfamiliar convertible on the other side. There was a young blonde boy with his laptop, and an older blonde lady at the wheel. He knew her, she was…

And then there was nothing.

* * *

"Ugh," Bobby moaned, opening his eyes.

"Hey, the Icicle's coming around!" he heard someone shouting. No, not just someone; it was Tabitha. It was impossible not to recognize that voice.

"Tabby?" he groaned, laboriously lifting up his head. "What happened?"

She laughed, and soon Jubilee and Sam were there, helping Bobby up. "You missed a lot, man," Sam told him. "In fact, as soon as you're ready, there's a little bit of a party-"

"A boring party," Tabitha interjected, getting nods from Jubilee.

"… a little bit of a party going on for us to get to." Bobby was now sitting up on the edge of a bed. Rubbing his head, he looked around.

"Am I in the infirmary?"

"Yeah," Jubilee spoke up. "You hit your head pretty hard when you fell. Then again, you might be in a lot worse shape if X-23 hadn't saved you."

"What do you mean?" Bobby had never been so confused in his entire life. X-23 saved him? Why couldn't she has saved him from whoever knocked him down. Unless…

"Dude, there was a Sentinel," Sam said. "You were almost fried."

Bobby closed his eyes, holding his head. A Sentinel? Yeah… yeah. He remembered. It was right above him, he was almost zapped, and then he was tackled by X-23, and then… nothing? Then he woke up.

"So what happened?" he asked again.

"Ooo! I call story dibs!" Tabby shouted, then laughed before calming herself. "Okay, so there was a Sentinel and X-23 saved you, but you got knocked out and got to join Sam in the 'got knocked out' wing of the infirmary."  
"I knew that part."

"Don't interrupt." Tabby smacked Bobby in the head, causing him to wince, but he gestured for her to continue. "Thank you," she said. Jubilee and Sam looked at each other with a knowing exasperation as she resumed the story. "So, it turns out it wasn't just that one Sentinel, but there were four of them. Two of them had come here, and two of them had gone after Emma's team."

"Emma…" Bobby remembered something. He… no, it wasn't quite there.

"Yeah, Emma, you remember her, she came here just a few days ago. Anyway, so out come the X-Men, of course, and there was a lot of fighting, but no one was really making much progress. Jean couldn't even get one of them moving with her telekinesis, and the only ones having any real affect on the Sentinels were X-23 and Badger. Then, out of nowhere, here comes that green-haired chick from Emma's team, Lorna, who was calling herself Polaris. Evidently she had already made short work of the Sentinels at their place, and Emma had sent her over here to help us out."

"It was amazing," Jubilee interjected. "I mean, I don't know exactly how powerful Magneto is, but Lorna… wow. She tore the Sentinels apart. They were just scrap metal after she was through with them, and she was done with them within a minute of her showing up."

"Wow," Tabitha said. "I didn't know you had such a big crush on her."

"Shut up, Tabby."

"I'm just saying." She shrugged. "Anyway, so now Emma's team is mingling with ours to celebrate the victory. You think you're ready for that kind of stimulation?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Bobby replied, standing and rubbing his head. "I think I'm fine, at least."

"That's good enough for me!" Tabitha said, throwing her arm around Bobby to help him out of the room.

The four of them walked into the foyer, where everyone was gathered.

"Ah, Bobby, I hope you're feeling better," Xavier said, rolling away from Emma and over toward Bobby. "I understand that X-23 hit you a little hard, but I know you'll agree that your brief incapacitation was better than the alternative."

Bobby laughed. "Yes, sir. I'd much rather be bruised and alive than extra crispy."

"Yes." Xavier smiled at Bobby's comment, amused by the boy's choice of words. "Bobby, I'm not sure if you've been introduced to Emma's students. Over there you will find Lorna Dane, the girl with the striking green hair." Bobby looked to see the girl talking animatedly with Scott and Warren, while Alex and Jean looked on, Alex appearing to be in awe and Jean seeming to be a little annoyed. "There is also Manuel de la Rocha." He pointed to another part of the room, where a dark featured boy was talking to Amara, Rahne, Remy, X-23, Rogue, and Jamie. Emma was also approaching the group before Bobby looked on to the last boy in the new team. "And over there with Kitty and Piotr is Douglas Ramsey." This boy was blonde, and looked very young. "They are all quite gifted with their powers, and I know they will make an excellent impression in the community on behalf of mutants."

"Yeah," Sam agreed. "It will be nice to have others like us here, too."

"Yes…" Xavier was distracted by the approach of Emma Frost. "Yes, Emma?"

"Excuse me, Xavier. I was wondering if I might have a word with you in your office." She smiled at Bobby, captivating him for the brief moment that her attention was on him before Xavier answered.

"Of course," he said, wheeling himself beside her. Bobby was able to hear a few more words from Emma before they were gone:

"It regards one of your students…"

Bobby's brow furrowed, wondering what she might have to talk about with Xavier, but he quickly shrugged it off. Wandering with Tabitha and Sam, he approached Manuel and his group of listeners, while Jubilee walked over to talk to Ray, Danielle, and Roberto. Manuel paused to turn and introduce himself to the newcomers.

"Hello," he said to Tabitha, "I'm-"

"Oh, I know who you are," she interrupted, shooting a smile toward Amara and causing the girl to turn a dark crimson.

"Ah, yes," he continued. "I suppose that our mentors have done well to make sure that we are knowledgeable regarding one another, but I'm afraid that I have quite a few more people to get to know than you."

"Oh, of course. I'm Tabitha."

"Sam."

"Bobby."

"Amara."

"Yes?" Amara answered, turning toward Xavier, who had called her from the door to his office.

"Could you come here, please. I would like to discuss something with you." Her blush returning, Amara ducked her head as she left the group.

"I wonder what that's all about," Tabitha said as soon as the door had closed behind her friend.

"Something to do with Emma, I think," Bobby answered, frowning. "I heard her saying something about 'one of your students' to Xavier before they went into his office."

"Huh. Do you know?" Tabitha asked Manuel.

"I cannot lie and say I know nothing," he replied, "but I would prefer to allow anything that needs to be said to be said by the proper people. I have never been one for gossiping."

"Heh, suave, ain't ya?" Rogue commented, laughing a bit derisively. Remy smiled, reaching for Rogue's gloved hand.

"I'm sorry if I offend," Manuel said, his tone serious. "But I think you'll all agree that speculation is a little ridiculous considering that we will probably know the nature of Amara's summoning shortly." The group around him was filled with nods and grunts of assent.

"So," Bobby said, "What are your powers, exactly?"

"They are a bit subtle," Manuel replied. "Nothing like flying or making things explode. I am an empath."

"Really?" Tabitha said, taking a step back.

"What's an empath?" Rahne asked, wrinkling her nose quizzically.

"I can sense people's emotions." Manuel explained.

"Like Jean with our thoughts."

"Yes, much like that."

"Can you control our emotions?" Tabitha asked, her tone distrustful.

"Well… yes, I can. But I don't." Everyone in the group was looking at Manuel warily. "I know your professor can control people with their thoughts, but he does not. I am much the same way. I can use my powers to make people leave me alone if I or my friends are in trouble, but in general I do not. I consider it to be unethical. I hope I can entreat all of you to trust me."

Bobby, who was really put off at first, suddenly found himself much more comfortable with Manuel's powers. If they weren't afraid of the Professor using his powers unethically, why should they be afraid of Manuel? Smiling slightly to show his approval, Bobby watched as the rest in the group relaxed.

Then Xavier's office doors opened, and he exited, Amara and Emma to either side.

"Everyone, if I could please have your attention for a moment," he announced. "Emma and I have been discussing the best ways to cement a strong bond between our schools. An exchange program was broached upon, and though it was decided that Emma's school could spare no students, I am happy to announce that one of our team has agreed to join Emma's students for a while. Amara has decided to join Emma's team for an as-of-yet undetermined amount of time. I hope you will all wish her the best, and know that you will continue to see her at high school and socially, so there is no reason to mourn. This is an excellent opportunity for Amara, and perhaps in the future we may be welcoming another young mutant into our home. Now Amara will go pack, and you may all wait down here to say good bye." Xavier smiled to let everyone know he was finished, and Amara shyly retreated upstairs.

Tabitha's mouth was open in shock. Amara was leaving her?


	4. In Which X23 Chooses a Name

Tabitha woke up, sat up slowly, looked around, and discovered that it hadn't all been a bad dream. _Though_, she thought, _I may just still be in it_. Everything felt so surreal. The empty room, her memories of saying goodbye to Amara the night before, the feelings of sadness, anger, and betrayal that all fought for attention… none of it really seemed true; like it was all just a bad joke that had been taken too far.

Taking a deep breath, she shook her head to fully wake herself up, then swung her feet out of bed and threw on some clothes. She then proceeded down the hall to Bobby and Sam's room, where she knocked on the door to wake them up.

"Breakfast time," she said half-heartedly, almost not caring if they heard her through the door. Amara usually helped her wake those two up. They were the only ones who never seemed to be able to wake up to their own alarm clocks in the morning and get ready in time for training.

"I'm awake…" she heard Sam say faintly from inside their room, and so moved on, heading downstairs to the kitchen for breakfast.

The place was already full, though only about half the mansion was up yet. X was in the corner with Logan, not talking, while Jamie, Roberto, and Alex were busy making pancakes.

"Morning, Tabby," Jamie said, mixing a bowl of batter.

"You want one?" Alex asked, flipping a pancake in the air as he talked. It was one of the talents that he was quite proud of.

Tabby shook her head, turning away. "Thanks, but I'm not hungry."

"Yah, and then you will just bum some food off me later, right?" Kurt asked from the breakfast table, where he had a sizable amount of pancakes piled in front of him, and was joined by Scott, Kitty, Remy, and Piotr, who were all eating pancakes as well. "I don't think so. She'll have two."

Tabitha grimaced, but plopped down beside Kurt. "You know, if you really are determined to be in a foul mood, I'll have you sit over there," he said, pointing toward Logan and X. "But if you want some comfort you can stay."

Tabitha's grimace turned into a pout, then into near tears as she let her head fall on Kurt's shoulder. He put his arm around her. "She's gone," she said, choking on the words.

"Tabby… she hasn't even left the city. And you did the same thing to her not too long ago-"

"That was different! We weren't friends yet, then, and I… I had reasons."

"Fine, then you did the same thing to me. And I didn't even know where to find you for a while. She's still in the city, and she'll still be at school. You'll see her almost every day, and you'll still be best friends."

"Yeah yeah…" Tabby muttered, wishing she would just be allowed to wallow in sadness instead of being forced to feel better with reason. She sat up as her pancakes were put in front of her. "Where's the syrup?" Gulping them down, Tabitha barely said another word while in the kitchen, and when she finished she made her way directly to Xavier's office, hopeful that he was there.

When she arrived she knocked on the door and began to open it before she realized that there were people inside talking. She was just about to slowly close it again and leave when she heard Xavier's voice in her head: _Come in, Tabitha. What we are discussing may interest you_.

Heeding the voice's words, she entered, and found Bobby and Sam in the office, along with Xavier and Storm. Evidently the boys had come straight to the office after getting dressed instead of getting breakfast first.

"Come in," Xavier said aloud. "Your friends have come here with the same purpose as you have, I believe. We have been discussing Amara's transfer to Emma's school."

Tabitha opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by Xavier continuing. "I was just telling them that, though their theory that Emma mind-controlled Amara is not without merit, it is not true. Though Emma is formidable, both Jean and myself far outstrip her telepathic capabilities. Emma would not have been able to control Amara in such a way without my or Jean's notice." He cleared his throat, then continued:

"We must look at this as an opportunity. One school helping mutant children is wonderful, but two is even better, and Amara will be getting the benefit of learning from both."

"But why Amara?" Sam asked, while Tabitha nodded her agreement.

Xavier smiled cryptically as he said, "She had an interest."

"What interest?"

"I do not believe it is my business to disclose that information," Xavier said, glancing at Storm. "Amara is an extremely powerful, headstrong girl. If Emma's school is not suited to her, I suspect she will discover that herself and return."

Tabitha interjected, "but if something is controlling her-"

"Tabitha, Xavier has already informed you that Emma is not controlling the girl," Storm replied. "She agreed to go of her own free will. I know that may be hard to accept, but it's true. Sometimes people we love leave us for reasons that we cannot understand, and the only thing that we can do is let them go and trust that they will come back to us when the time is right. As I'm sure you've already been told: you haven't lost her. She's just not living here anymore, and that's the way things are."

Tabitha lowered her head, knowing now that she would not find allies in Xavier or Storm. Xavier was enthusiastic about the education possibilities, while Storm was only thinking of Evan.

"I think you all had better head off now," Xavier finished. "If I'm not mistaken, your training starts in the Danger Room in less than five minutes."

"Aw man, breakfast!" Bobby exclaimed as he and Sam tore out of the room toward the kitchen.

"Tabitha," Xavier said, stopping her as she was about to leave. "I know this is hard. You, like many of the others here, have had a very difficult childhood. I know you and Amara were very close, but you must not fight this. I'm sure everything will turn out alright. You just need to trust me, and trust Amara."

Nodding, Tabitha left somberly, and headed in the direction of the Danger Room.

* * *

"Yes sir, sure feels good to be a winner," Bobby said in triumph, stretching his arms as he and the rest of the new recruits exited the Danger Room.

"What are you talking about?" Danielle retorted, stalking out past him. "You had X on your team. She did most of the work."

"So? Not like you did _anything_," Bobby spat back. Scowling, Danielle stamped away, muttering something about finding Kitty and Bobby being _such_ a jerk.

"C'mon, Jamie: it's milkshake time," Roberto said.

"All right!" Jamie exclaimed from close behind. Together they led a group that consisted of Jubilee, Rhane, and Ray. Sam, Tabitha, and Alex followed, but stopped with Bobby in the hallway. X-23 and Beast were the last ones out, and Beast closed the door behind him.

"I must say, Laura, you have done an excellent job containing your aggression during this session," Beast commented as he and X-23 walked past the group.

"Laura?" Alex echoed, confused.

X-23 abruptly turned to Alex, a scowl on her face and a fist raised threateningly. "You don't expect me to be called X-23 forever, do you?," she snarled. "I am a human."

"S-sorry," he apologized, "I just was confused. That's the first time I've heard anyone call you that.

"Well… I only picked it this morning," she said, her voice calming slightly. She headed back to Beast, who was waiting, but paused to turn and say "sorry," before catching up to her furry teacher.

The remaining students could hear him say, "Now, that comment that I made about your aggression…" before he and Laura moved too far away. Bobby and Sam, with small, restrained grins on their faces, made eye contact, and then began to crack up, laughing so loud that Tabitha was sure the entire mansion could hear them. Tabitha grinned a little, but could not enjoy the situation as much as the boys were.

"Oh, come on, Tabby!" Bobby said, gasping for air as he talked. "She didn't die!"

"No." Tabitha's smile vanished. "She left us. She left me."

"So did you," Sam pointed out, calming himself.

"Why does everyone keep bringing that up? It's not the same! I committed a crime and I lost my dad, and I didn't really know any of you guys yet. I had to get away. Amara… she has no reason, other than just wanting to, and if that's the case, why didn't she tell me – or any of us – that she was planning on going? I mean, none of it makes any sense. None of it feels right!"

"Amara's a big girl, Tabby. She knows how to take care of herself, "Bobby pointed out. "Maybe she was afraid you'd try to talk her out of it. Or maybe she doesn't want any of us to know the reason why she left."

"I thought I was her best friend…"

After a small, awkward silence, Alex surprised everyone by saying, "Let's go visit her."

"Huh?" Sam queried.

"Let's… visit… her," Alex repeated, slow and loud like Sam was daft.

"I heard what you said," Sam said, smacking Alex on the back of the head. "I was just taken off guard is all…"

"Let's do it!" Tabitha chimed in, her mood already lifting.

"I don't know," Bobby cautioned. "Are you sure it's not too soon? I mean, Tabitha, you're still pretty worked up about this whole thing. Shouldn't you give it some more time so you're not immediately begging her to come back when we get there?"

"But I know she'll want to see us!"

"Bobby has a point, Tabby," Sam said. "We really should give her some more time. I mean, she just got there. At the very least we should give her time to get settled or somethin'."

"Fine, Alex and I can go by ourselves."

"No, no," Alex protested, rethinking it as well. "They're right. We don't want to seem too eager."

"Too eager? I'm not trying to date the girl, I'm just trying to rescue her!" Tabitha realized after a few seconds that she had chosen the wrong words. "I mean… not 'rescue'…I guess…" Sighing, she capitulated. "Tomorrow?" she asked them all.

"Tomorrow," they all agreed.

A/N: I know it's short, but I already have two more chapters done, and they are awesome. They'll be up soon!


	5. In Which Tabitha Hates Manuel

"'Mara!" Tabby shouted, practically running across the room to throw her arms around the girl. "I've missed you so much!"

"It's barely been a day," the dark-skinned girl reasoned.

"But it's been such a long day!"

Bobby smiled as he watched the two girls together. Though Amara wasn't really saying it, you could see in her body language just how relieved she was to see Tabby and the rest of them. Giving the girls a little privacy, Bobby looked around. Lorna had answered the door when they reached the school, which was much smaller than their own. It was more of a normal house than the mansion that they lived in.

When Lorna had led them in, she took them into the parlor then went to get Amara, who entered a short time later followed by Lorna and Manuel. Manuel was now standing back, grinning as he watched Tabitha and Amara. Lorna, meanwhile, made her way over to where Bobby, Sam, and Alex were standing.

"I know our place is a little small…" Lorna said, trying to start a conversation.

"Oh no," Alex chimed in, maybe a little too quickly, "it's great." He blushed as he added, "if _I'd_ been asked to transfer here I totally would have." Bobby and Sam exchanged glances then bit their lips to keep from laughing.

Lorna smiled softly, taking the compliment in stride without acknowledging its deeper meaning. "I've been meaning to ask," she said, stepping toward Alex. "Your brother: are he and Jean…?"

Alex blanched as he realized what Lorna was trying to ask, so Bobby stepped in to save his friend some humiliation. "Dating? Yes."

"Oh," Lorna replied, downplaying her disappointment more out of politeness than embarrassment. "That never really came up at the party. How long have they been…?"

"They're an institution," he explained, "I mean, really, I guess it hasn't been very long at this point, a year or so, but they're one of those couples that's meant to be; they've been best friends for years."

"Ah," she said then flashed a smile at Bobby, who suddenly found himself caught off guard by her quiet beauty, "Thank you. I'm glad to know before accidentally making an enemy of Jean. Instead I've only made a fool of myself in front of you all." She extended her smile to all of them. "Promise you won't tell anyone?"

"Sure, we're great at keeping secrets," Sam answered, only to receive an elbow in the ribs from Bobby shortly afterwards. "What was that for?" he asked, holding his side in pain.

"You'll figure it out." Bobby turned to see how Amara and Tabitha were doing, only to find the blonde coming toward his group and Amara heading toward Manuel. "Don't we get to say hi to her too?"

"She's just checking to see if she can go out with us," Tabby replied, throwing her arms around Bobby's and Sam's shoulders. "I figured we could go to the mall or to the movies or something. Go somewhere a little more familiar, you know?"

"Movie sounds good," Sam said, shrugging noncommittally.

Tabitha smiled sarcastically, saying, "Thanks for your contribution, Country Boy." Sam flinched at the name, but said nothing.

"So have you successfully refrained from begging 'your girl' to come back?" Bobby asked, trying to steer the subject clear of anything closet related.

Lorna's face became confused. "You want her to leave? She just got here; this place isn't bad."

"Oh, we're not saying it's bad," Alex declared. "It seems great."

"It's just," Bobby said, turning to Lorna, "the Institute may be a school, but we're family. I'm sure you feel the same way about Miguel and Douglas." Lorna looked a little uncertain at this, but Bobby continued just the same, "Amara is important to all of us, and, though we are trying," he shot a meaningful glance at Tabitha, who looked away, "we're really going to miss her if she ends up staying here for a while."

"Ah, I suppose I can understand that," Lorna replied, trailing off a bit. There was a small awkward silence before Alex spoke up.

"Where are you from, Lorna?"

"The school moved here from Massachusetts," she stated, matter-of-factly.

"I mean before that. Where did you come from before you joined Emma?"

"Ah," she blushed slightly, "well, I was born in Boston." She paused a moment, trying to decide how much she should divulge before continuing, "I don't know anything about my parents except for the fact that they didn't want me. I grew up in a children's home, and that's where Emma found me. No one else would adopt the strange little girl with green hair. I had friends there, and some of the workers liked me, but no one very close." She smiled as she said, "I really consider my life to have started when Emma found me about five years ago. My powers hadn't really developed yet, but Emma could still sense them. She already had Manuel at that point, and we got Douglas a year ago. But that's where I'm from: Boston." She took a deep breath and looked at the rest of them, "Now, tell me about you guys."

"I'm actually from Boston too," Bobby said. "Well, suburban Boston. I got a mom, dad, and brother who all think I was selected by some prestigious boarding school a year or so ago, which I guess isn't far from the truth."

"They have no idea?..." she asked, amazed.

"No clue, unlike Sam's parents."

"So your parents do know," she repeated, turning to Sam.

"Yeah. I'm from Kentucky, and I got a big family. There's my mom and stepdad, then five others. I got really lucky with my family; mom and dad will love us no matter what. From what I hear Paige and Josh, my sister and brother, got powers now too, though I haven't been home to see it. I reckon they'll be making their way up here at some point."

Lorna smiled a bit enviously, "You sound so blessed. I couldn't imagine having such a big family."

"It's nothing compared to the Institute," he said, trying to downplay his obvious good fortune in the presence of the girl with no family

"What about you, Alex?" she asked, moving on through the group. "Where's home?"

"Hawaii, where I lived with my foster parents until just about a year ago. Our parents died when Scott and I were just kids, in a plane crash, and Scott and I were separated by the accident. We both thought the other one was dead. I was adopted almost right off the bat, and had a normal life until about a year ago, when my powers manifested and I found Scott. I only moved to the Institute about a month ago, so my life has really been fairly ordinary."

"Other than the part where he's a psychopath who likes to surf in the middle of storms and almost get the people who love him killed," Bobby added.

"Sounds normal to me," Tabitha giggled.

"Of course it would to _you_."

"And you, Tabitha?" Lorna asked, rounding out the group.

"Huh?"

"What about you? How did you end up at the Institute?"

Tabitha smiled with a false-sweetness as she said, "Sorry, I don't give out the _Cliff's Notes_ of my life to people who I barely know." Lorna barely had time to be shocked before Amara approached the group, trailed by Manuel.

"We can go," she announced, beaming happily.

"We?"

"Yeah, Emma said it wasn't a bad idea for the whole gang to get out. They haven't been here for very long, so we might as well show them around. Douglas should be on his way down now." Bobby was comforted by the fact that Amara had used the word "we," though he wasn't sure if she meant "Xavier's students" or "people who have been here a while."

"Sounds good to me," Alex said.

"Yeah," Bobby agreed, watching as Tabitha possessively took Amara by the arm, eyeing Manuel warily. Douglas was there shortly, and they all headed out the door, debating over what movie to watch.

The rest of the day passed in a blur. There was food and a movie and more of Alex's blatant subtleties. Most of the time Amara was sandwiched between Manuel and Tabitha, but every now and then Bobby and Sam were able to get some words in to the girl. Bobby was surprised by just how calm and happy she seemed to be at Emma's school. The evening ended with little event in front of Emma's school's doors. Alex was able to procure Lorna's phone number, and Tabitha gave Amara a hug that didn't seem like it was ever going to end, before Manuel led his team back inside, and Alex, Tabitha, Bobby, and Sam were left standing outside.

"Well, at least she's happy," Sam said, walking with the group back to the mansion.

"Yeah," Tabby agreed, though it was evident from the tone in her voice that was not what she wanted. "She's happy."

The group spent the rest of the walk in silence. Tabby was trying to figure out the best way to convince Amara to come back, Alex was fixated on working up the courage to ask Lorna out, Sam was trying to convince himself that it wasn't like he had any chance anyway, and Bobby? Well, Bobby just didn't know.

"Wake up!" Tabitha yelled, slamming Bobby and Sam's door open the next morning.

"Aw, Tabby," Sam moaned, "We got at least another thirty minutes… look at the dang clock!" Sure enough it was more than half an hour before Tabby and Amara usually came to wake them up in the morning.

"This is important," she insisted. "Now get out of bed!"

Grudgingly, the two boys complied and crawled out from under their covers, both of them wearing just their boxers. Sam gave Tabby a small look of triumph at not being caught lacking this time, but Tabitha could care less what he was, or wasn't, wearing.

"We _have _to rescue Amara!"

"But she's happy, Tabby," Bobby replied, looking longingly at his welcoming bed. "We saw her, she likes it there. We need to let this go for a little while."

"She's _not _happy. She called me last night after you guys had gone to sleep. She feels really weird about the whole situation, like it's out of her control.

"But it's not; she chose to go there," Sam pointed out.

"Hold up, just listen. She says she feels happy a lot of the time that she's there, really pleased with her decision and all. But sometimes, like last night, she suddenly gets really upset and she doesn't know why and she feels… I don't know, she just said she feels out of control!"

"Tabby, are you sure this isn't just a momentary thing?" Bobby asked.

"Well, yeah, obviously it is, but she was sobbing, guys." Tabitha looked pleadingly at the two of them. "The girl who didn't shed a tear last year when she was so sick on that cruise ship that she didn't know what to do with herself. The girl who I, honestly, have never seen cry, was sobbing. I should have gotten you guys right then and gone to get her, but I talked her down, and told her to wait. Because we're going to go get her and bring her back."

"Why don't we just talk to the professor?" Sam asked, his brow furrowing.

"He won't listen. You heard him before, in his office. 'Amara is a big girl and she'll take care of herself if she needs to.' But she can't; she needs help; she needs us."

Bobby and Sam just stared at Tabby for a moment before Bobby spoke up.

"We'll be seeing her at school today. We'll talk to her, and, if anything seems even a little wrong, we'll get her back here. I swear."

Tabitha looked at Bobby, then at Sam, then at Bobby again. "Fine. But there is something wrong, I know it." She sighed, shaking her head, and said, "I'll see you at breakfast," as she turned and left, closing the door behind her.

"Do ya really think Amara could be in trouble?" Sam asked, sliding back into bed. "I mean, they all seemed nice enough."

"I don't know. Amara might just be homesick. Then again, it could be worse. But we can't go around making a huge deal out of this. If Xavier says we can trust Emma… well, I think we need to. At least a little bit."

"Yeah…" Sam replied, nodding off. Bobby stared at the ceiling for a few minutes before realizing he wasn't going to be able to fall asleep again, then crawled out of bed, threw on some clothes, and headed down to breakfast, where he ate in silence. Then he, Sam, and Tabby walked together to school. Sam and Bobby regularly tried to start conversations about inane nothings to try and distract from the gloom that Tabitha was providing, but it was to no avail. They were a little scared too, really.

They got to school without any incident, and headed to their lockers, which were close to one another. Bobby looked up from grabbing his books just in time to see their former teammate heading toward them in the hall.

"There's Amara," he said to the others. "She looks happy enough." But that wasn't true. She didn't just look happy; she looked like she was overflowing with joy. She and her new teammates were walking in a group, and at her side was Manuel. He was smiling as well, and seemed utterly focused on Amara, whose hand he was holding.

"It's him," Sam, Tabby, and Bobby all said at once, with varying degrees of discovery, conviction, and disgust.

"Alright," Bobby said, not taking his eyes off of Amara and Manuel. "We'll get her back. Tonight. Sam, get the word out. It's about time the Argonauts did something."


	6. In Which They Rescue Amara

"I can't believe that sleaze ball," Roberto exclaimed from his perch on Sam's bed, standing in his fury. "We're not just going to go get her, are we? I mean, some justice needs to be served-"

"Are we sure?" Ray asked, cutting Roberto off. "Is there a way that we can prove that this is what's happening to her? I mean, we go in and there's nothing wrong, we're going to be in some serious trouble."

"And if we don't go in?" Bobby spoke up. "If we don't go in and there is something wrong, I don't think I would be able to live with myself. Would you rather leave her, and just hope nothing's wrong?"

"Hold on, that isn't what I was saying," Ray said, shaking his head. "I mean, when we go get her and bring her back, other than just her word, how are we going to be able to prove that Manuel has been messing with her? I mean, Xavier can read her mind and figure out she was scared or homesick or that things felt wrong, but he won't be able to tell if that kid messed with her emotions, will he?"

The room was silent for a moment while everyone thought about that problem. If they were going to get her back, they wanted to make sure that she wasn't going to just be plucked out of the Institute again. They needed proof…

"Doesn't Gambit have some empathic powers?" Jamie posed, breaking the silence.

"Yeah," Tabitha exclaimed, snapping her fingers. "I mean, I don't think they're that strong or anything, but I think he should be able to tell, once we get back."

"So we are going?" Jamie asked.

"Of course we're goin'," Sam replied, rolling his eyes. "_That _was never in question. I told you we were goin' before the meetin' even started. So what's the plan?" he asked, turning toward Bobby.

"Tabby's going to call Amara later tonight," Bobby said, nodding toward Boom Boom. "When she calls she's going to ask which room in the house is Amara's, and I'll make an ice slide and go up and get her."

"…and then we come back here?' Roberto asked.

"Well, yeah."

"So what do you need the rest of us for?" Ray asked, speaking for himself, Jamie, Roberto, and Sam.

"I said that was the plan. I don't know whether or not things are actually going to go according to plan. _That_ is where you guys come in. Six of us against four of them, and they only have one heavy hitter? Even if we get caught it should be a piece of cake."

"But Bobby, Emma's a telepath," Sam pointed out. "She could take us all out. You can't count her out, and there's no telling how Manuel will be able to affect us. I think Cypher's the only one we don't have to be worried about."

"No?" Ray scoffed, "The kid talks to anything _including_ computers. If they have anything like the danger room over there, we'll be in big trouble."

"You guys have no idea what you're talking about," Bobby said, rolling his eyes. "Fine, maybe I am underestimating them, but they're probably not that powerful either. We've got the six of us, and we'll be fine."

Tabby's phone rang just as Bobby was finishing. "Hey, Amara! … Hush, we're coming… tonight… yeah, okay. Which window is your room? … uh huh… soon. Just wait… I promise… bye." She closed her phone and looked up at the rest of the group. "She'll be waiting."

"Alright, we leave at 10 after midnight, meeting by the gate. Staggered exits please, avoid the security cameras, and not a word, or thought, to anyone else."

* * *

They met at the gate, as planned. Tabitha and Bobby had gotten there before everyone, around 11:50, and the others arrived one by one. At 15 after midnight, they silently left, heading toward the home of Emma's team.

"Nice outfit," Ray commented to Tabby, once they were out of sight of the mansion.

"Thanks," she said, grinning. "I like to relive the Sirens days as much as I can. But what about you guys," she continued, looking over all of them and their coordinated outfits. They were all wearing dark jeans, a pair of black sneakers, and a dark t-shirt, each in a different color. Some of them were wearing extra things too; Jamie had on knee and elbow pads. "Jeans and t-shirts? I guess it's better than our goofy X-kids uniforms."

"We needed something," Bobby said, rolling his eyes, and looking over her outfit "and we just happened to _not_ choose leather, leather, and more leather."

"Poor cows…" Jamie added jokingly.

They spent the rest of the walk joking in a similarly light-hearted manner in between the long moments of silence. They were all a little nervous about what was coming up.

"Alright, there it is," Bobby said as they approached the house. "Sam, you stay back here with Jamie and Roberto and keep an eye on things. If something's up, you come let Tabitha, Ray and I know right away."

"Right."

Together, Ray, Bobby, and Tabitha walked up to the house, Tabitha silently pointing out which window Amara had identified as her own.

"Wait down here," Bobby whispered to Ray, as he grabbing Tabitha's hand and used his powers to create an ice pedestal that lifted them up to the window. Looking inside, they saw two beds, and two sleeping figures. Bobby looked quickly at Tabitha: why was Amara asleep? Tabby shrugged, and started trying to open the window, but it soon became evident that it was locked from the inside. Bobby pointed at the lock, and Tabby started to make a bomb. He grabbed her wrists to make her stop, shaking his head and pointing at the sleeping girls. They wanted to wake one, but they wanted to avoid waking the other.

Instead Bobby placed his hand on the window frame near the lock, and ice began to spread along it, moving steadily toward the lock on the other side of the glass and freezing it. He nodded to Tabitha, and together they jerked open the window, shattering the lock. It wasn't necessarily quiet, but it was nothing compared to the sharp sounds of Tabby's time bombs.

Once the lock was broken they carefully slid the window all the way open, and crawled inside. Tabitha went in first, and Bobby was barely clear of the window when it suddenly and forcefully shut. Tabitha turned to away from the window to see Amara's head snapping up as she was woken by the window, and Lorna already sitting up in bed.

"I don't get it; I really don't. We didn't kidnap her!" Lorna said, keeping her voice at a loud whisper. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because your team manipulated-" Tabitha started angrily, advancing on the girl, but she was interrupted by Amara.

"Tabby…" she cautioned her friend, tears starting to roll down her cheeks.

"'Mara," Tabby replied, moving to and putting her arm around her friend. Sniffling, Amara looked up to address Lorna.

"They came because I asked them to. Something's wrong and… I don't know who to trust." She paused, standing. "But I think I can trust you, at least enough to ask you not to say anything… please."

Lorna got out of bed as well, her expression confused and concerned. "What's wrong? Why didn't you say anything?"

"I don't actually want to be here. I'm not happy. I mean, I am happy, but not all the time, and it's not mine. It's…"

Amara trailed off, and Bobby stepped forward to finish it for her: "Manuel." Amara nodded. "We're pretty sure that he's influencing her, making her happy to be here… and happy to be around him."

"I didn't know who knew about it and who didn't; I'm sorry I didn't trust you," Amara said, approaching Lorna. "But I want to go home."

"Emma will know," Lorna said, her voice serious but non-committal. "She'll know that I know."

"Then come with us," Bobby offered, stepping forward more.

Lorna looked a little offended by his suggestion. "I can't! This is my place. I may not have the kind of home and family that you all do, but I have this, and I'm not going to leave it."

"Then let _me_ go," Amara pleaded

Lorna stared at all of them for a while, and then started musing to herself, smiling slightly. "I suppose if I start now I might be able to convince myself that this is all a dream.

"Thank you," Amara replied, breathing a sigh of relief before turning to Tabby. "Get me out of here?"

"You got it, girl."

Tabitha crawled out the window first, standing on top of the pedestal that was a little more slippery than when Bobby had first made it. Amara was next, followed by Bobby. It was a tight fit, but by holding on to one another they could keep from falling. Lorna followed them to the window, closing it as they left, and whispering a half-hearted "Good luck." Bobby nodded a thanks before creating a small slide to get the three of them to the ground.

As soon as their feet touched earth, Berzerker held his hands a few inches away from the ice, generating a charge hot enough to speed up the melting process so that there would not be a large, telling block of ice in Emma's yard in the morning.

"Let me get that," Amara whispered, and quickly melted the entire block before throwing her arms around Tabitha, then Bobby, then Ray. They then headed back to the rest of the group, who received similar greetings.

"I can't believe you all came to get me!" Amara exclaimed, wiping away tears the entire time.

"You're a part of the team," Roberto explained, his arm still around her shoulders as they started walking back to the institute.

"That and Tabby would not shut up about it," Bobby joked, giving the girl a playful little shove.

"And I was right, wasn't I? I mean, I know what my girl needs."

"Right now, we need to get her to the mansion, and get Gambit to come out and see her," Ray added in a tone that was not quite as jubilant as the others, quickening his pace.

"Gambit?" Amara repeated quizzically. "Why do I need to go see Gambit?"

"We want to make sure that there really was something messing with you, and we think Remy might be able to tell."

"You don't think they'll trust me?"

"Just as proof…" Bobby explained.

"Right, okay," Amara nodded, walking briskly with the others back to the mansion.

* * *

Gambit's room was close to Bobby and Sam's, so the group waited there once they had returned to the mansion, while Bobby went to retrieve the Cajun. Amara was sitting on Bobby's bed, still looking shaken, but obviously overjoyed at being back. Tabitha was next to her, holding her hand, while Sam and Roberto hovered nearby, and Ray and Jamie were sitting on Sam's bed. They were only waiting for about a minute before the door opened and Bobby and Remy came in.

"Remy don' believe it," he said as he caught sight of Amara. "You kids really did it… Xavier will no' be happy."

"Except if it turns out we did the right thing," Bobby jumped in, obviously a little nervous that he was going to go wake the telepath now.

"Don' worry, boy," Remy replied, shaking his head. "De professor will find out soon enough, wit'out Remy sayin' nothin'."

"So, can you tell if anyone's been messing with her emotions?" Sam asked, cutting to the chase.

"Oui. Remy can turn on de charm," he said, winking at Tabitha and causing her heart to flutter a little, though she rolled her eyes for the benefit of everyone in the room, "an' Remy can tell when others have been turnin' on de charm. Here, petit," he said as he tipped Amara's head up, so they were looking into each other's eyes. It was only a few seconds before he broke contact, backing up and shaking his head as he continued to look at Amara.

"You didn't find anything?" Roberto asked, panic in his voice.

"No," Remy replied, "I did. She' been turned inside out and upside down." He looked around at the others, shocked. "You all were righ'." Amara had started to shake as soon as he confirmed their fears, and she broke down into tears once again at this point. "I t'ink we need to go get Xavier now.

"We will," Tabitha said, holding Amara and trying to calm her down. "She just needs a moment, and then we'll-" but she didn't even get to finish before they heard Xavier's instructions in their heads.

_Amara, Remy, Bobby, and Tabitha, if you could please come to my office immediately. The rest of you, get to bed, and I'll deal with you in the morning._

"Aw man, we're in trouble," Jamie griped as he, Ray, and Roberto left the room.

"Don't you dare think that it wasn't worth it, kid," Roberto said, following him.

"No way I'm going to fall asleep," Sam said to Bobby. "I'll see you when you get back."

"Right," Bobby answered, turning out the door with Remy, Tabby, and Amara. They walked in silence, hoping that Xavier would sympathize with them, but afraid that he wouldn't.

"Thank you all for coming," Xavier said as they entered, looking warmly at Remy and Amara, and sternly at Tabitha and Bobby. "Amara, please come sit by me." As soon as she was seated, Xavier closed his eyes, performing a quick superficial sweep, then opened his eyes, looking concerned. "I'm sorry, Amara. If I had known…" he shook his head, disappointed in his own judgment. "You're exhausted. You may go to bed."

Amara nodded, and gave a sad smile to Tabby as she left. Xavier then turned to Gambit. "You can confirm that the influence was emotional?"

"Yes, sir. She' been mixed up a fair bit more dan I can tell, even."

"Thank you, Remy. You are dismissed. Please try not to wake anyone else as you return to bed."

Remy turned to leave, but stopped just before the door. "They did the righ' t'ing, Professor," he said, addressing Xavier. The Professor nodded, and Remy left without saying another word.

When the door shut, Xavier turned toward Bobby and Tabitha. "So did you save the day?" he asked, rhetorically. Both students didn't say a word, though Bobby did hang his head slightly.

"Bobby," Xavier continued. "This is a school. This is a place for you to come and learn to control your powers. This is not Super Heroics 101. I am not teaching you to be a buffoon in a cape who solves his problems with fists."

"But I didn't use my fists," Bobby spoke up, defending himself, "I-"

"Used your powers instead of using your words," Xavier finished for him. "The X-Men only fight or use their powers when there is no other choice. You should have come to me-"

"But I did!" Tabitha stepped in. "I did, and you shot me down."

"You came to me lonely, and missing your friend. You did not come to me with the information about Amara's own unhappiness. You should have allowed _me_ to talk to and deal with Ms. Frost. I fear now all chances of relations with her team have been severed."

"No offence, sir," Bobby said. "But do we really want to have anything to do with a team that does stuff like that?"

"They are mutants, Bobby," Xavier explained, less than calmly. "Whatever the world thinks of them, they will think of us. We could have influenced them to make sure they would help us with our goal of peaceful coexistence. It doesn't matter, however," Xavier said, shaking his head. "What matters is that this incident has helped me realize something very important. This is a school, first and foremost. The presence of the X-Men here is obviously not helping some of you learn, so I'm faced with a choice:

"Shut down the school, or disband the X-Men."

Tabitha couldn't believe what she was hearing. She was going to be responsible for the end of the X-Men.

"But professor-" she started, but she was swiftly interrupted by Xavier.

"I'm sorry, Tabitha. I should have known that the adventure and danger of the X-Men under the same roof as a school was not a good idea. It's my fault for even trying it in the first place. Nothing will happen overnight, I promise you, but we can't go on like this much longer. Stunts like you pulled tonight, harmless as they may seem, could end up with someone killed, not to mention the fact that you broke several laws." Xavier sighed before he dismissed them. "That will be all for tonight. Please keep what we have discussed to yourselves, and I will see you in the morning."

Tabitha and Bobby turned to leave, but were stopped by Xavier at the door. "Oh yes, and you both are grounded for the next month, and will not participate in the team training sessions. I believe a month's worth of Logan's sessions will make you think twice before trying something like this again, and I expect you will let your accomplices know that they will share in your punishment."

Grimacing, Bobby and Tabby left. They walked in silence until they were clear of Xavier's office's doors, at which point they turned to one another.

"I can't believe-" Bobby began.

"I know!" Tabitha whispered urgently.

"They're going to hate-"

"I know."

"What are we gonna-"

"I know."

"We can't tell anyone."

Tabby paused for a moment before replying, "I know."

"So we're agreed?"

"Not a word," Tabby emphasized.

Nodding, they went back to their respective rooms. Bobby was going to tell his roommate that Xavier was letting Amara stay and that they were being severely punished, and Tabitha to comfort Amara. Both were terrified of losing something that had become precious to them.

A/N: Okay, so I was planning on getting the little ones out of the house and making something akin to the Massachussetts Academy, but I didn't expect it to be hinted at this soon. I hope you all enjoy, and review please!


	7. In Which Wolverine is the Villain

Tabitha was sure that when she got to her room, Amara would be up and waiting for her. She was also sure that when she finally crawled into bed herself, she would never be able to fall asleep after the night they had just endured. She was wrong on both counts.

She woke to her alarm, set early to prepare her for another day of school. Groggily sitting up, she panicked for a moment as she realized that Amara's bed was empty. Jumping up, Tabby was still in her pajamas when she burst into Bobby and Sam's room, where the two boys were in the process of getting dressed before breakfast.

"Amara's not in my room," Tabitha cried, her words running together in her panic. Bobby and Sam had both started when Tabby came into the room, but resumed pulling shirts on over their heads once they heard her concerns.

"Relax, Tabby," Bobby told her. "She probably just went down to breakfast. She already woke us up. Tabitha's face became less agitated at this, but only slightly so.

"So she's here? I didn't imagine anything?" she asked, not willing to relax until she had been assured that last night hadn't just been a dream.

"No, you didn't imagine _anything_," Bobby replied, a certain gravity to his words. Tabitha's agitation was replaced by worry, as she remembered _everything_ that had happened last night, particularly what she and Bobby alone knew. "Go get dressed," he said, ushering her out of his room ahead of him as he and Sam made their way downstairs to breakfast.

Nodding, but still glum, Tabitha dressed hurriedly, then rushed down to the kitchen, where Amara was, in fact, breakfasting. She was surrounded by Kitty, Jean, Scott, Sam, Roberto, Bobby… and everyone else in the mansion who was awake and in the kitchen, save X and Logan, who were, once again, in a corner not talking to anyone.

"Tabitha!" Amara greeted her best friend, grinning. Tabby smiled back, happy to see that her friend was already back in high spirits. Tabitha pulled up a seat beside Amara, giving her a hug before grabbing her cereal.

"Girl, I am never letting you out of my sight again!"

"Tabitha, please," Amara said, laughing and blushing. "I'm okay. I mean, it was scary," she continued, looking down into her own cereal, "I felt so out of control. But I'm back and it's okay!" She looked up, smiling at everyone.

"It really hurts to be manipulated like that," Jean agreed, remembering her time under the control of Mesmero. Scott threw his arm around his girlfriend, then squeezed Amara's shoulder comfortingly.

"They can never hold onto us X-Men for long, though," he added. "We've always got each others' backs. There was no way you were staying gone for long."

"Morning," Ray said, walking into the kitchen with Jamie and Alex in tow. He took a seat next to Tabitha, smiling at Amara before speaking to Tabitha in a quiet voice, "So we have our first training with Logan today… right after school." Logan looked up at the mention of his name, then smirked at the two of them from across the room.

"When?" Tabitha asked, internally cringing at the thought of the unwelcome side-effect of their actions.

"After school. Beast is going to take the rest of them outside for games. We're in the danger room."

"Great," Tabitha grumbled, then sighed, resigned. "Well, such are the consequences. I'm sorry for dragging the rest of you into it."

"Well, I can't say I'm grateful," Ray said, sighing himself. "But I don't regret it either." He and Tabitha both smiled. Looking up, they noticed that a lot of the room had cleared out. Only they, Amara, Jean, Scott, and Bobby were left.

"You guys are going to be late to school if you don't hurry up," Scott remarked, checking his watch. "Better get a move on."

"Oh, calm down," Jean said, chuckling. "I can drop you guys off; go get ready."

"Thanks Jean!" Amara beamed, then ran upstairs to get her backpack with Tabitha on her heals.

"So how long do you think people are going to be super nice to you?" Tabitha asked, laughing.

"I don't know," Amara giggled. "I hope it's a while. I could get used to this!" Laughing, they made their way back downstairs, and headed to school.

* * *

School was pretty uneventful. Amara became nervous as they arrived, knowing that she might see Manuel and the others when they arrived. Would he make her feel bad? Would he make her miss him? She was terrified that he was going to snatch her away from the X-Men again, and that this time he would know to keep the others out, as well as her in.

Luckily, he, Lorna, and Douglas were all absent from school, so Amara didn't have to worry. Tabitha had to wonder, though, were they gone? Had they really left after they had obviously been found out, or were they planning something else? Was Amara still in danger?

When they got home, Amara said goodbye to Tabitha and went off with Beast, Laura, Alex, Danielle, Jubilee, and Rahne for training in the yard, while Tabitha joined Logan and the Argonauts in the Danger Room.

Logan smirked at them once they were all in the room. "So," he drawled, "I heard that you all want to be superheroes."

Tabitha stood tall as he said this, but she could see Sam wincing out of the corner of her eye. Logan was going to get them, and get them good.

So," Logan said, talking as he turned and started slowly ambling toward the door. "I could put you against the usual super villains: Magneto, Sabretooth, Pyro, Apocalypse-"

"Did that," Bobby said quietly, smirking, not able to help himself.

"Sure ya did," Logan agreed. "But…" he turned, grinning menacingly, "You never had to face me."

All of them blanched at the same time. "O-objectives?" Roberto stammered.

"Stay alive." With that he leapt at them, a chilling howl escaping his lips.

Bobby reacted first, crouching down and shooting a blast at Logan's feet, sending him off balance and making his hit the ground hard. As soon as Logan hit the ground, he sent another blast at his hands, coating it as thickly as he could.

"Okay," he said, talking before Logan even hit the ground, and keeping his eyes on the feral man the entire time. "What do we got?"

"Time bombs, electricity, super strength, a cannonball, and a whole lot of Jamies," Sam said, knowing exactly what Bobby was looking for.

"Okay, okay," Bobby muttered, continuing to talk to try and keep himself calm. "Ray, you ever tried to turn any of the stuff in here on?"

"No," Ray responded tersely, "and if I can turn them on there is no way that I can control them."

"Don't care," Bobby said, starting as Logan unsheathed his claws, shattering the ice. "Tabby, blind him! Sam, get her out when she's done!"

"On it," They both said together, running toward Logan so Tabby could get to his eyes.

"Ray, let's get some machines going. Roberto, you protect Ray. Jamie, start trying to get the door out of here open. If it won't, look for another way."

Tabitha was able to get out a few bombs before Logan started coming after her, having made short work of the ice holding him down. Sam snatched her up as soon as she was in danger and took off, dropping her on the other side of the Danger Room before slamming into the wall himself. Rolling, Tabitha was on her feet to watch Ray try and jumpstart a few of the machines hidden in the walls. They started shaking, and it seemed like it was going to work, and then they started smoking; it was a bust, and Logan was on top of him and Roberto. Roberto tried to fight back, but Logan retracted his claws, and Roberto was only able to get in a few punches before Logan threw him over his shoulder, knocking the boy out as he hit his head on the floor.

"Aw, man," Ray muttered, backing up against the wall and clenching his fists as sparks began to fly from them.

Tabitha turned to Sam, who was sprawled on the floor behind her, and helped him get up while Ray discharged the largest charge he could muster into Logan, who started to smoke and filled the room with the smell of charred flesh. The attack didn't stop him, however, and by the time Sam and Tabitha were moving to help Ray, he was on the ground by Roberto.

"Bobby!" Tabitha cried. Bobby had been busy making an ice slide up to and trying to get into the control center in the ceiling of the Danger Room. Not wanting to wait for Tabby and Bobby, Sam fired up, shooting himself toward Logan. Sam was able to knock him off his feet, and the two of them went flying across the room… heading straight toward Jamie. Not wanting to hurt Jamie, Sam powered down to try and slow down and to turn off his forcefield, but the force of Sam and Logan hitting Jamie still knocked the boy against the wall, hard, and he and Sam were both out of the fight, with several multiples generated from the crash passed out around them as well.

"Oh man," Tabitha whimpered as Wolverine got up and looked toward her. Knowing there was nowhere to go, Tabitha started concentrating on making bombs in her hands. She needed them powerful, small so she could hold on to them, and many. She already had a few when Logan started toward her. She already had ten when he was halfway across the room; she gulped down her fear. She wasn't going to die. It was training. Fifteen when he was three quarters. It was okay. It was okay.

"Tabby!" Bobby called, racing toward her on an ice slide. He was gaining on Logan. He wasn't going to make it. He wasn't going to-

"Got you," he gasped, grabbing her and pushing the two of them forward and up less than a half second before Logan was in the space that Tabitha had just occupied. They were in the air and safe… and then they were falling. Looking behind them, Tabitha saw where Logan had cut apart the base of the slide. Tabitha tossed her time bombs at the approaching threat just before Bobby grabbed her around the waist, creating another ice slide in a curve that slid them safely to the ground. They turned back to see that Logan had been knocked back a few feet by the time bombs, but he was by no means stopped.

"We're dead," Tabitha squeaked, fighting the urge to hide behind Bobby.

"Oh yeah," Bobby agreed, creating an ice wall in front of them as a last ditch effort at protection. They heard Logan start to hack away at the other side for a few seconds before they heard Scott's voice over the loud speaker.

"Hey Logan! We're scheduled now, they're done."

"Aw, come _on,_ Slim," Logan growled. "I only had a half hour and some of them were late!"

"Sorry," Scott responded, not letting up. "Clean up the ice, and collect the bodies."

Still a little wary, Bobby and Tabitha cautiously stepped around the ice to find Logan fuming but controlled on the other side.

"Would it make you feel better if I told you that you win, Badger?" Tabitha asked, trying to calm the situation with a joke, though her heart was still pounding heavily in her chest.

"Yeah I did," he smirked. "Still want to be a superhero?"

"Yeah," Bobby exclaimed, his voice breaking a little from the adrenaline in his system. He then explained when Logan frowned at him, "if I'm a hero I don't have to fight you."

"Maybe, kid. Maybe," Logan muttered, going to try and wake up Jamie and Sam. "Hey Scott! Can you get Magma in here to clean up Bobby's mess?"

"Sure thing."

Bobby and Tabby together went to wake up Roberto and Ray, and together the group hobbled out of the Danger Room.

* * *

"Oh god, I am dead tonight," Tabitha moaned, crawling into bed. It felt as though all of her bones were five times heavier than usual, and her muscles at only half the strength. It was such a relief to sink into her bed.

"Yeah, that aftermath was a little scary," Amara giggled. "I'm glad I didn't have to do it."

"And I'm jealous…"

Amara chuckled a little at the way that Tabitha seemed to be falling asleep mid-sentence before turning in herself. She really had missed her friends and the team for the few days that she was gone. It was very good to be back.

* * *

Tabitha wasn't quite sure what woke her up, but she was awake. Sitting up in bed, she flipped on her lamp, turned to Amara, then jumped out of bed. Amara was gone.

The door closed. That's what had woken her up. The door had closed, which meant that Amara…

Tabitha flew out of bed and threw open the door. Amara was at the other end of the hall, about to make her way down the stairs. "Amara!" she called, racing down the hall and catching the girl. "Amara, hey, what are you?…" She stopped when she saw Amara's eyes. They weren't looking at her… or at anything, really. "'Mara?" she asked, worried. But there was no response, no… anything from the girl. Tabitha stopped, letting her best friend continue walking, heading down the stairs and toward the front door.

"Shit," she said, standing there, stunned, for just a moment before running back the way she came. She banged on Bobby's door, then Ray's, then Roberto's. Rubbing their eyes, the Argonauts, plus Alex all came out into the hall.

"Let's go," she said, not wasting any time and running downstairs and out the front door. Confused, they all followed after her just in time to see a car speed away. "X-Van," Tabitha said, turning and running toward the garage. Bobby, Sam, Alex, and Jamie were following her, but Ray and Roberto stayed in place.

"What's going on?" Ray shouted after them. "This is crazy!"

"It's Amara," Tabitha shouted back. Roberto and Ray locked eyes for a moment, then ran after the rest of the group.

"I got the keys," Bobby said, jumping in the driver's seat. Tabitha leapt in beside him, while the others piled in the back. Bobby quickly started the car and squealed out of the garage, speeding up to catch up with the car. Everyone sat rigid in their seats, hoping that the car hadn't gotten too far away yet. As soon as it was in sight, Bobby slowed down, just barely keeping it in sight.

"They took her again," Tabitha muttered, glaring at the car in front of them.

"Who did? Emma?" Alex asked.

Tabitha nodded. "It has to be. We need to get her back before something bad happens." The rest of them nodded, ignoring the fact that they were all still in their pajamas.

"Um… Tabitha?" Bobby said after a moment. "I think you should call the professor."

"Bobby," she replied, shaking her head, "we don't have time-"

"Yes we do. The car phone's right there. I'll drive; you call. Tell them to track us and get the team out here as soon as possible. We don't want to get into any _more_ trouble."

Gulping, Tabitha realized what he was talking about and scrambled for the phone. They had to save Amara, but was it worth losing the X-Men?

* * *

A/N: only 3 chapters to go!


	8. In Which They Rescure Amara Again

"Okay, there's a team coming," Tabitha said, hanging up the phone. "They're going to track us. If this place is far enough away, they should be getting there at the same time as us."

"Good," Bobby responded, concentrating on the car in front of them that they were following. He tried to keep it as far ahead of him as possible while still being able to tell when it made turns or stopped. He didn't want the car to know they were being followed. He considered, for a moment, turning off the headlights, but he wasn't sure how to activate the night vision, and he knew that wrecking the van was not a way to get on Xavier or Logan's good sides (a fact, he was sad to say, he knew from experience).

It was silent, and very tense, in the van for a few moments before Sam suddenly proclaimed, "They're not going to hurt her."

Everyone turned to look at him. "I mean," he continued, "she has to be fine. They already had her once before and they didn't do anything."

"Just because they don't want to hurt her, it doesn't mean that she's not going to get hurt," Roberto pointed out. "Who knows what they have planned. Maybe she's important now but she won't be later."

"Shut up," Tabitha snarled, turning on Roberto. "That isn't going to help anything, and it's just going to rile the rest of us up. We are going to get in there and get her out and nothing is going to go wrong. We got a nice drive ahead of us and the X-Men will be there and-"

"Nice short drive, you mean," Bobby interjected, slowing and stopping the van. The car had stopped in front of them outside of a factory. Everyone turned to the windows, looking out into the dark around them.

"Anyone know where we are?" Ray asked, looking around.

"No clue," Roberto answered as he and Jamie stuck their heads out of an opened door.

They all looked at the scene before them. Emma, Magma, and two other figures had gotten out of the car and were standing before the factory, one of them holding a small laptop in his hands. There were no lights on outside the factory, but all the lights inside were on; it looked like everyone was working very late. Without warning, Amara went into flame mode, and the earth shifted slightly beneath them. A few moments later the group could hear screams coming from inside of the factory, but no one was coming out.

"We'll get closer, wait here," Bobby said to the rest, grabbing Tabitha's hand and crouching down with her. He made a low slide, slowly pushing them forward so they could get closer without making a sound.

"…all in there, you're sure," they heard Emma saying to the boy with the laptop: Bobby and Tabitha were both able to quickly identify him as Douglas.

"Yes, all Sentinels are currently in the base," he responded. "It seems that none have been deployed at all since that whole stunt with Apocalypse. In fact, I think all of these have been made since Apocalypse, and have never seen the light of day."

"Good, excellent." she said curtly, and then turned to the other person with her, "Manuel, how are we doing on personnel control?"

"No one has left all day," he replied, a cocky tone to his voice. "I've kept everyone happy to stay at work this late, and now they're all too panicked to even think about leaving in an orderly fashion."

"You really are a credit to our kind," Emma purred, obviously happy with what her student was telling her. Amara was standing by her side, still in her fire form, eyes intent on the factory in front of her.

Bobby turned to Tabitha, an inquisitive look on his face. He was wondering why Lorna was not with the group, and Tabitha was doing the same. Surely if their goal was to cause damage here, Lorna had proved herself to be quite capable, and there was no shortage of metal in the area for her to work with. Maybe she wasn't there because she hadn't been told, or maybe she was somewhere else playing look out or waiting to ambush the X-Men when they showed up.

"How's she doing?" Manuel asked Emma after a short while, eyeing Amara.

"Fine," Emma replied, barely glancing at the girl. "It's taking a lot, but the magma is coming. This place will be melting in no time."

"Yeah," Manuel said, sounding a little agitated, "but how is _she_?"

Emma turned toward Manuel, a smile playing on her lips. "Are you worried?" she asked, sounding amused. "Gotten a little more attached to the girl than you were planning to?"

"Just concerned," he answered, not losing his cool. "We don't want anything to happen to her, do we? I mean, the X-Men are not a group of enemies that we want to have. We want them to see our side of it… we just couldn't wait for it to happen to do this."

Emma sighed. "You're right, of course." She turned to look at Amara. "She's fine. She'll need a bit of rest after all this is over, but I'm not going to spend her up, I promise."

Bobby grabbed Tabby's shoulder, deciding that now was as good a time as any to head back to the rest of the group. Together they slid back, joining Alex, Jamie, Ray, and Roberto by the van.

"It's a Sentinel factory," Bobby whispered loudly as soon as he and Tabitha were back. "They're holding the employees inside and they're going to have Amara destroy the place… and kill everyone inside."

"So… this is the part where we stop them, right?" Alex said, stepping forward.

Ray shook his head "Guys, the X-Men will be here in no time. We really should let them-"

"But we're right here!" Bobby interrupted him. "We can't just sit around and wait for the 'grown-ups' to come and fix things. We all know how to use our powers, right? We can take care of this!"

"I'm with Bobby," Alex said immediately.

Tabby followed almost instantaneously with a "Me too. Come on, guys. We can do this. We've all been training, and it's not like we can get into trouble for helping! We just need to-"

She cut off suddenly because she had looked back over at the group of Emma and her little hellions… and they were all looking right back.

"What do you all think you're doing?" Emma sneered, striding over to them, Empath on her heels while Cypher stayed with his computer near Amara. "I don't remember extending an invitation to anyone but Amara for our little party here."

"Too bad, lady," Tabitha retorted. "Because if you mess with one of us, you mess with all of us. You can't just waltz in a take one of our members right from under our noses and not expect us to fight back."

"Please," Emma laughed, obviously implying that she didn't think any of them were worth her time.

Bobby, glaring, started barking orders. "Tabby and Ray, take Cypher. Alex and Cannon-" but he was cut off mid sentence. As he had been talking Emma had snapped in Manuel's direction, and a half a second later he had turned his powers on the group. All of them were panicking, without even knowing what they were panicking about, but it was uncontrollable. Jamie was running. He wasn't getting anywhere, but he was running. Bobby was standing still, his eyes open so wide it looked like they would pop out at any second. Alex was on the ground in a fetal position, rocking and whimpering. Sam had his hands on his ears and his eyes closed tight, and it looked like he might have been screaming, but there wasn't a sound coming out. And Tabitha and Roberto were clinging to one another. They were terrified already, but they were even more terrified to let go.

Emma turned back to the group and smiled sadistically at first, then sighed and shook her head, suddenly looking very tired. "I'm not the bad guy here," she started, then motioned to Manuel to tone down the terrifying. It was still bad, but weak enough that they could actually hear what she was saying instead of being just enveloped by the terror. "I hope you realize that. There isn't a bad guy; not really, not in the giant scheme of things. It's really just a fight for survival. We want to exist. The humans want to exist. The humans will always feel threatened by us; why do you think they created the Sentinels in the first place? They aren't going to embrace us; they want to kill us! And," she paused and let out a laugh, "we're not going after them randomly. _These_ people are the ones who are working to eradicate our species. If any people deserve this, it's them."

Bobby's jaw was clenched so tight he was afraid it was going to snap, but he was still able to get out, "And what… gives you… the… right… to police-"

Emma started laughing again before he could finish his sentence. "You are so full of it! How many times has Xavier had you practice those lines? 'Protect the mutants; protect the humans; mutants aren't the law, they still need to play by the rules.' Sweetie, the rules are changing. Everything is changing. Did _Homo erectus_ play ball with the Neanderthal? I don't think so. They realized they were either the winners or the losers; there's no room for two top dogs on the food chain. There is one, and it is us. The sooner Xavier stops tiptoeing around this issue, the better." She scoffed, turning away and motioning for Manuel to follow her. "You can't stop the inevitable."

With that, Emma, Manuel, and Cypher all got into the car and drove away, and, slowly, the fear subsided. As it did, those who weren't already on the ground collapsed, exhausted by the adrenaline and other hormones that had been racing through their systems. Roberto and Tabitha let go of one another, falling to the ground and gasping. Sam was the first one to compose himself enough to look up. "Amara…" he said, seeing her still intent on the factory. The rest of the group looked up as well, confused as to why she was still there when Emma was gone. Then her flame form dropped, and it was just the dark skinned girl, still in her pajamas, standing there looking at… no, through the factory.

Then she collapsed, and in that moment the rest of the group jumped to their feet, running and stumbling over each other to get to her. Bobby and Sam were there first, and Bobby fell to the ground, pulling her up into his lap while Sam grabbed her hands.

"'Mara? 'Mara, wake up," Tabby demanded as she fell to her knees beside them.

"She has a pulse," Sam said, letting go of her wrists. "I think she's just exhausted; we need to get her back to the mansion immediately."

"Right," Bobby agreed, standing up and picking Amara up to take her back to the van and hurry her back to the Institute. Tabitha and Sam were right by his side, but Alex was looking hesitantly at the factory.

"Um… guys?" he said, calling to their attention the screams that were still coming from inside of the factory. There was a faint orange glow coming from inside, and people could be seen in the windows of the upper stories, trying to get out now that they were no longer under the influence of Empath. "We need to help them."

Sam turned to look at Bobby, who looked at the group, then back down at Amara, then back to the group again. Ducking his head, he moved back to the van and placed Amara in, then sat down with her, leaving the rest of the group outside, and closed the door.

* * *

A/N: 2 chapters left! The end of June; it's totally going to be done by then. And then (here's a taste of the next story): Redemption Rex.

_Trying not to grumble, Wanda crawled out of bed, dressed, and headed downstairs to find some breakfast. She was greeted outside by two more things that were different: one pleasant and one not. First, it was clean. There were no stains on the walls or the floors, and no clutter in the corners; that was nice. Then there was the pyromaniac…_

"_Morning, Wanda," John said, standing awkwardly close to her closed door._

"_What are you doing here?" Wanda grumbled, pushing past him and heading down the stairs. "Isn't that Todd's post?"_

"_Yeah… turns out our resident toad isn't too keen on fire." He laughed as he flicked open the lighter that seemed to always be at the ready in his hand._

"_And neither am I," Wanda scoffed as she turned into the kitchen, leaving John standing awkwardly at the bottom of the stairs._

"_You… you don't mean it. Do you?" he cried after her pitifully, his face screwed up in an expression of utmost dejection. The look was gone in an instant, replaced by glee at his ability to look so dejected, and a small fire display was preceded by a flick of his wrist._


	9. In Which Amara Saves the Day

A/N: Yeah, I know I'm behind schedule. So it goes

* * *

The rest of the team stared at the shut door, and felt defeated. When had Bobby ever walked away from a chance to be a hero? These were civilians; it was what they were supposed to do. Sam and Tabitha glanced at one another, torn between trying to get Bobby out of the van, joining him in there, and being heroes.

"Well," Alex said, turning away and looking at the factory, "we have some work to do."

"You mean without-" Jamie started, concerned.

"Yes, 'without,'" Alex cut him off. "If he wants to make sure she's okay, he can, but we all have something else we need to be doing." He was quiet for a moment as he looked over the group then looked back out at the factory. "Sam, can you get to the roof and help as many people as you can? Take Jamie with you. Jamie, I want you to get inside and find as many people as you can and get them up onto the roof. That leaves me, Tabby, and Roberto. Roberto, how much energy you think you got stored up."

"Enough," he responded, knowing he really only had about half an hour, but he would make it count, and he would get the job done.

"Okay, then we're on the ground," Alex continued. "We need to try and figure out a way to get people out of the second and first floors safely."

"You mean the second floor," Tabitha muttered sullenly. "There's no way there's anyone on the first floor who is still alive, it's completely flooded. And that building is going to be coming down soon unless someone does something about it." Alex looked again at the factory and could see that it was true. The magma that Amara had summoned was flooding the bottom floor, flooding out of the windows, and slowly melting away the stone and brick at the bottom of the building (the windows were already gone).

"Okay, the second floor, then. Let's go!"

At his word, Sam grabbed Jamie and threw the boy on his back before taking off for the roof where he landed as smoothly as he could manage. There were already a couple of people there, so he grabbed one and headed back down to the ground, then returned to the roof until there were no more people left. Upon landing Jamie punched his hands together a couple of times until he had a nice little crowd. Then he and his little group of Jamies headed into the building where they dispersed and searched out as many people as they could, directing them to the roof where they would be rescued. Well, all except one, who remained on the roof, distracted by a moth, then decided he would stay to help organize the people whom Sam was giving rides to the ground.

"Okay, so, what exactly are we supposed to be doing?" Tabitha grumbled to Roberto as the two of them jogged behind Alex closer to the factory. "I mean, yeah, help people, but all I can hope to do with my powers is take this building down a little faster. You can actually get up there and get them, but me…"

"You can help," Roberto replied, a little distracted by the realization that he was going to need to fly. That was going to deplete his stores even faster. He hoped the X-Men got there soon. "I'll get them to the ground, you get them away from the building. These people are going to be exhausted and in shock. They're going to need help."

"Yeah, okay," Tabitha murmured, looking on as Alex gestured some people standing near a window on the second floor to back up. They complied and he used his powers to knock out the wall and window there, making a hole around which the people inside started to gather.

"You're on, Roberto," Alex ordered. Sunspot transformed quickly, then flew up to the window to grab a couple of people. "Tabitha, stay here to help him. I'm going to run a perimeter around the building to see if I can find any more people who need help. I'll make ways to get to all of them, and you and Roberto can follow behind me."

"Alex, you're going to bring down the building if you keep blowing holes in it!" Tabitha shouted at him since he had already started jogging away. He kept going without acknowledging her. She rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to the task of ushering the people who had just been dropped off by Roberto away from the building so that they would not be burned (or splatted, as she strongly believed could be a possibility). As soon as there no other people at that hole, Roberto flew down to her and the two of them ran along the building until they reached another hole that had a small amount of people just inside of it waiting to be rescued. Lava was continuing to drip out of the windows, pooling out over the ground. As they were running Tabitha looked to her right at the group of people they had rescued to far. Several of them were on their cell phones, no doubt called the police or their family.

Roberto was on his second load of people from this area when his powers hiccuped while he was halfway down and still over some lava. Tabitha jumped forward to grab the two people, tugging them barely out of the reach of the lava. Unfortunately, in the process, she was pulled forward, and forced to windmill her arms to try and keep from falling. She was just about to topple forward and Roberto was just about to hit the lava as well when his powers turned back on for a few seconds and he rocketed himself forward into Tabitha, knocking her over as both of them fell to safety. Unfortunately there were still more people staring down at them, and Roberto wasn't going to be able to give any more for the cause that night.

"Go up to the roof!" Tabitha shouted at them. "Find a little boy! He'll get to you the roof!" At that she and Roberto turned and sprinted in the direction that Alex was heading. The boy seemed to have not heard Tabitha's warning at all, as he was busily knocking holes in the wall anywhere he saw people trapped inside.

"Alex! Stop!" Roberto yelled as they approaching him. He turned, a quizzical look on his face.

"Why?"

"Look!" Tabitha cried, pointing toward the corner they had just passed. Sizable amounts of the building were crumbling in that section. "It's not going to hold and you are _not helping_!"

Alex paused, staring at the corner of the building, before looking back at Tabitha, defeated. "Well, what am I supposed to do?"

"We need to get Sam and Jamie out of there!" Roberto said, peering up at the roof even though they weren't visible. "The building is going to come down, and they might get hurt."

Alex raised his hands, protesting, "but… all the people-"

"Aren't going to be helped by more of us being down for the count," Tabitha cut him off, getting frustrated. "Yes, we want to help, but we can't! None of our powers were made for rescue. This is not something we can help with! We need the X-Men!"

Almost like Tabitha was psychic, they were suddenly hit by a gust of wind that marked the arrival of the X-Jet. Tabitha held her hair down as Roberto and Alex peered up at the jet, and a chorus of cheers from Jamies could be heard coming from the roof. It looked like the boy had managed to collect the rest of the people who were inside the building and consolidate them there, which would protect them from the fire, but not the fall of the factory. The jet landed roughly, and Scott, Jean, Ororo, Warren, and Logan all emerged from it at a run.

"What's the situation?" Scott asked, leading the group and stopping in front of the three of them. His eyes were on the building behind them, and Ororo and Warren were already working on collecting more shouting people from the roof.

Alex started "The-"

"Emma used Amara. The building's swimming in lava and people are on the roof and Sam's our only flyer," Tabitha interrupted him again, earning a glare but she didn't even look at him to recognize it.

"Okay," Scott said, turning to Jean, "help Storm and Angel with the people on the roof. Can you check for anyone still inside?"

"I'll do my best," she replied, levitating off the ground and landing on the roof.

"Logan, Tabitha, Roberto, and Alex, you guys are with me. We need to tend to these civilians and make sure that there aren't any injuries that require further medical attention. Jamie can join us when he's off the roof."

"You can help people," Tabitha responded, starting for the van instead. "My friend might be in trouble and I've been away from her doing my duty and everything for too long." She didn't wait to hear Scott's response, and he just let her go.

Reaching the van, the pulled the door open sharply, finding Amara laying on a seat inside and Bobby leaning over the back of it over her. "How is she?"

"She's slipping in and out of consciousness," Bobby replied, looking up at her. "I think she's okay, she's just… well, she's been pushed too hard, I guess. I'm trying to get her awake enough to cool the magma." He turned his attention back to Amara, shaking her shoulder roughly.

"To… cool the magma?"

"Yeah, it's our best chance of saving them. You saw what she did for the volcano on our cruise. She's the only one who can stop this. Sam can't manage getting everyone out of there."

"The X-Men are here."

He looked up, stopping his efforts to rouse the dark girl prone before him.

"They brought Warren and Ororo and Jean. They're going to be able to get everyone." She paused, looking down at Amara, then back up at Bobby. "You… you were still doing your best to save the people in the factory. Cooling that lava… it's just going to hurt her more. You know that, right? She's exhausted, and that's going to make it worse."

"I know," he said softly, almost sounding ashamed. "I know, and I feel horrible. What kind of person am I?"

Tabitha shook her head, unwilling to answer. He was willing to risk her friend for those people? Who knew, maybe it would kill her. She was already so taxed that Bobby couldn't even wake her up, and he wanted even more from her. It was infuriating! She was just about to tell him off when Amara stirred and Tabitha and Bobby both turned to her attentively. Her eyes fluttered open, and she turned her head from one side to the other to look at them.

"Are… are the people… still in there?" she asked weakly.

"Yes," Tabitha answered without thinking. "Um, well, maybe. I don't know. They were still working on getting them out when I came here-"

"Help me up."

There was a moment of silence as Tabitha and Bobby stared at one another, wondering if they should do what she asked. Bobby was the first to move, putting his hands behind her shoulders to help her sit up. Tabitha grabbed an arm and threw it over her shoulder, helping her step shakily out of the van where Bobby joined her on the other side, and together they supported her.

"To the factory," she said, and they silently complied, stopping when they reached the smoldering edge of the lava. "Let me go."

"But-"

"Let. Me. Go," she said again, firmly, interrupting Tabitha. Glancing again at one another, they let her go, and both stood at the ready, prepared to grab her again. Precariously balanced, Amara slowly lowered her body closer to the ground until she was squatting. Leaning over the lava, she touched a finger to it, pulling it over her body so that she was in her flame form. Tabitha made a move to step forward and stop her, but Bobby held her back, realizing was Amara was doing.

She closed her eyes, then pushed the lava back off of her and hardened it at once. All of it. Suddenly there was no heat and no danger, and the building was still crumbling slightly from the holes blasted in it, but it was going to hold. The entire area seemed to pause and give a sigh of relief before the bustle of taking care of the factory employees continued.

At the same time that the world started up again, Amara crumpled to the ground, out cold once again. This time Bobby was there to catch her, and he and Tabitha left the group, taking Amara back to the mansion and the care of Hank McCoy.

* * *

A/N: One chapter left! And keep an eye out for Redemption Rex


	10. In Which Lorna Comes to Stay

Feeling a little nervous, Sam walked down the hall toward the infirmary, where Amara had been for a couple of days now. He carried with him a vase, but there were no flowers inside. Instead there was soil and rocks. Volcanic rock, to be specific. He had visited the local natural history museum earlier that day, and had come out with this collection of the common variety, and one very special specimen of larimar, which was currently in his pocket to be delivered to her separately.

Taking a deep breath, he pushed open the door and was greeted with a sight that was not quite what he was hoping for. Amara was in bed, just like he expected, but beside her was a laughing Bobby, and beside him on the table was a vase of beautiful purple orchids, at which Amara was glancing at intervals, beaming.

"Hey Sam," Bobby greeted him, motioning to the chair next to him. "We were just talking about the news report about what happened at that factory. Funny what the humans will believe, right?"

"Yeah, sure," Sam agreed, sitting. He hadn't really been paying attention to the broadcast, but he knew it was something about tectonic abnormalities and… well, something that made absolutely no sense. They explained it away well enough to satisfy themselves, so he thought it was all right. "I brought you these," he said, handing Amara the vase. She peered inside, her face brightening as she realized what it was.

"Sam, that is so sweet. Thank you!" Amara trilled, happy with her present. She placed it on the table beside her, next to Bobby's flowers. "I think Mr. McCoy is going to let me out of here soon," she said, looking around a little restlessly. "I mean, I wasn't really that bad, I just need some food and some rest. It was a good thing you guys were there."

Bobby's face fell, remembering that night and how he had pushed her even harder than Emma had to try and save the building. Yes, she had done it herself in the end, but still. He felt like a horrible person.

"Well, it's all alright now," Sam replied, also not really wanting to dwell too much on that night. He had been exhausted by the end of it, and hadn't been sure he would make it had it not been for the arrival of Angel, Storm, and Jean. Thank goodness for the cavalry. Sticking his hand in his pocket, Sam was just about to pull out the larimar when in came Amara's other half.

"How's my girl doing?" Tabitha practically shouted, bounding into the room and making her way to Amara's other side. She didn't sit, however, and instead leaned over Amara so she could whisper and be heard by all. "We have a lurker outside," she said, her eyebrow cocked.

Bobby was confused. "Logan?"

"Pfft, no," she replied, rolling her eyes. "A certain green haired chick. Goes by the name Lorna." She fell back into a chair at that, watching the others to see what they thought. Lorna had showed up at the Institute the morning following the factory incident, accompanied by Emma. The teacher had not been allowed entrance, and so Xavier came out to her. They talked for a good while before Emma left and Xavier wheeled himself inside, accompanied by Lorna, who he announced would be joining them at the Institute. Amara's eyes had widened a little bit in fear when news of their new addition had reached her, but she had become acclimated to the idea. After all, Lorna had not been there that night, and she had helped, in a way, with Amara's escape the first time. She was really just a victim of circumstance. It was good that she was at Xavier's now, and not still with Emma. The blond telepath had left later that day, accompanied by Manuel and Douglas.

Bobby blushed a little, recalling how over the last day or so Lorna had followed him around quite a bit, earning more than one angry look from Alex, who was desperately trying to capture the girl's attention. Sam… well, he didn't really care. It was a new student. It seemed like they were getting a lot of new students lately, what with Colossus, Gambit, X-23, Danielle, Alex, and Angel. It wasn't any news, really, except for her affiliation with Emma, and that again was nothing compared to Gambit and Colossus's or X-23's previous alliances.

"I think it's good that she's here," Amara spoke up, a little annoyed with her best friend's insistence on disliking Lorna. "She needs us." The end of her sentence was accentuated by a yawn, and Tabitha stood immediately, gesturing to Sam and Bobby to do the same.

"That's our cue to leave," she said, starting out. "Get some rest, and we'll see you in the morning." Amara nodded her approval and repositioned herself for a nap. Her body was still pretty exhausted, and it was good to listen to it while she recovered. That meant a lot of sleep at odd hours.

"How is she?" Lorna asked as they came out.

"You _could_ go in there and ask her yourself," Tabitha replied, not looking at the girl as she continued on her way out. The boys were behind her and Lorna trotted to catch up with them. "Not now, though. She's sleeping."

Lorna blushed, looking down. "It feels weird," she said softly. "I know you guys kind of blame me for this, and… I don't know."

"No, no," Bobby said, slowing so he was walking beside her. "We understand. I mean, you had no idea and you were with a group of people who understand you. It's okay."

Tabitha rolled her eyes, unseen by anyone but Sam, and broke out ahead of them. "I'll catch you guys later," she said, not taking the time to give Lorna any more attention. It was no secret that Tabitha did blame Lorna, a little bit, for what had happened. It had been her team, after all.

"Yeah, I think I have some homework ta get to," Sam excused himself, bounding upstairs once they had reached the main level, his hand in his pocket fingering the larimar. He would have to wait until later to give it to Amara. Maybe when they were alone.

Bobby headed toward the kitchen, leaving Lorna standing awkwardly by the elevator. "You want to get something to eat?" he called to her after a few seconds, feeling a little awkward. Blushing again, she nodded her head and followed him. "You know you really shouldn't blame yourself," he said, preparing a sandwich for himself while she sat and watched. "You had nothing to do with that night. You had no hand in… what happened."

"I know," Lorna replied. "But, I still should have known, you know. I mean I was living with those people. I trusted Emma. I should have known that something was up."

Bobby shook his head. "No. They even deceived the professor. Your conscience should be clean. Mine, on the other hand…"

Lorna's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," he said, stopping what he was doing, "is that I was willing to throw Amara back into things, despite how exhausted she already was. She would probably be recovered by now if it weren't for me. I was will to sacrifice my friend. I was-"

"What are you talking about?" Lorna interrupted him. "You were trying to save those people. And Amara, she made the decision to do that on her own in the end, right? I mean, I think…" she paused, ducking her head. "I think that it was pretty heroic."

It was Bobby's turn to blush this time. "Thanks," he breathed, hurriedly finishing his sandwich and cutting it in half, handing one piece to her. "Um, I think I have the same homework Sam does. Bye!"

* * *

"They did good, Chuck," Logan growled from his seat on the couch in Xavier's office.

"Yes, I agree, Logan, but I still cannot help but feel concerned about their futures," Xavier replied from behind his desk, his fingers pressed together before him. "This school is supposed to help them control their powers, not prepare them for a life of heroism. The creation of the X-Men was… an accident. It was necessary, to stop Magneto and protect the humans, and now it seems I have created a new career choice for some of the younger students, and that was not my intent."

"I agree, Charles," Ororo nodded, from her standing position by the window. She was alternately looking at her companions and observing the heavy rain clouds outside that were not her doing in the slightest. "However, the climate of the world is changing. There is a need for heroes like the X-Men."

"Especially with people like Magneto out there," Logan assented.

Ororo shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts, as she stepped away from the window a few feet. "I am not saying that this school culminates in an acceptance in the X-Men. I am only saying that, for some of the students, that may be the best option. Many of the students, such as Bobby or Danielle, have dispositions that make them an asset on the battle field."

"I do not think that there needs to be a war, though," Xavier interjected, sighing.

"No," Logan agreed, "there never needs to be a war. That doesn't mean that there won't be one." He stood as Xavier moved to start speaking again and interrupted the man. "Look, all I'm saying, Chuck, is that they're doing good. Yeah, they're kids, but they know what they're getting into. Well, Bobby might not," he chuckled slightly, gaining the surprise of Xavier and Ororo, "but they know the score. They know they don't all have to become X-Men, but I think they need to know that they can. The world could use a team like yours right now."

There was a moment of silence as Logan's speech sunk into Xavier's head and Ororo smiled her consent. "I suppose… I suppose that is logical," Xavier conceded, still feeling divided on the subject. "I am not ready to make my final decision, however. Perhaps… perhaps the students may benefit from a separation instead of a dissolution of either the school or the team."

"Another campus?" Ororo asked, confused.

"Yes: one home for the team, another for the students who need to learn how to coexist inside human society. I will think further on the subject," he finished, turning away to signal Ororo and Logan's dismissal.

"It works as it is," Logan grunted as soon as he and Ororo had left the office.

"Yes, Logan," Ororo agrees, "but for how long? We are getting more and more students every day. A new school is not a bad idea, and I'm sure students like Bobby and Tabitha would perform better without the X-Men being paraded around before them."

"Or maybe the X-Men are what they need to, you know, push them harder. Hell, I think Tabitha would have run off again already if we didn't have some adventure to offer her."

"Logan, please." Ororo narrowed her eyes at his language. "I do not think we should be waving around a position on the X-Men as a carrot in front of some of the trouble students."

He shook his head, turning to head up the stairs to his room. "If it works, then what does it matter?"

Ororo was amazed at how much interest Logan was taking in the young students. She shook the debate from her head as she walked toward the front doors of the mansion. On the other side a storm was battering against the windowpanes, making a calming racket. Cracking the door open and slipping out, she took flight. The wind seemed to speak to her, telling her of warm air near the surface forcing its way up, turning the sky upside down and dumping water on the world below. Rolling over in the air, she let its currents pull her about for a while, relaxing before she would return to her bedroom in the attic.

The idea of a new campus was definitely not a bad one. Perhaps she and Mr. McCoy could take some of the younger students. They would be able to give them more attention, knowing that the X-Men were elsewhere and could deal with any threat from the less than friendly mutants that seemed to be coming out of the woodworks lately.

Perhaps.

* * *

A/N: Well, that's it. The end. It has been a few years in the making, but I think it came off well. Now to episode 2: Redemption Rex…


End file.
